Harry Potter and the Boy Who Broke Time
by Kimmimaru
Summary: After Sirius Black's death Harry is devestated, until the day when Dumbledore comes to take him back to the Burrow and a certain Sixteen year old appears in his living room. Eventual Slash.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This story has been nagging at me for a while, It's probably been done to death but I hope I can put an original (Or near enough Original) spin on it...enjoy and please be so kind as to leave me tiny review, thank you. :)_

Harry Potter and the Boy Who Broke Time

_**Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.**__** - **__**William Faulkner**_

Harry Potter was an unusual boy who unusual things had a tendency to happen to. It was summer and he was sat in the living room of his home in number four Privet Drive with his aunt, uncle, cousin and his Headmaster. This was by far the least unusual thing to happen to him, especially since he had long been expecting the arrival of Albus Dumbledore at his home, but no one was expecting the arrival of another, unexpected guest.

Once everyone was as settled as they were going to be Dumbledore spoke; "I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment," Dumbledore said to Uncle Vernon, "but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness."

A twitch of the wand, and a dusty bottle and five glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-coloured liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

"Madam Rosmerta's finest oak-matured mead," said Dumbledore, raising his glass to Harry, who caught hold of his own and sipped. He had never tasted anything like it before, but enjoyed it immensely. The Dursleys, after quick, scared looks at one another, tried to ignore their glasses completely, a difficult feat, as they were nudging them gently on the sides of their heads. Harry could not suppress a suspicion that Dumbledore was rather enjoying himself.

"Well, Harry," said Dumbledore, turning toward him, "a difficulty has arisen which I hope you will be able to solve for us. By us, I mean the Order of the Phoenix. But first of all I must tell you that Sirius's will was discovered a week ago and that he left you everything he owned."

Over on the sofa, Uncle Vernons head turned, but Harry did not look at him, nor could he think of anything to say except, "Oh. Right."

"This is, in the main, fairly straightforward," Dumbledore went on. "You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts, and you inherit all of Sirius's personal possessions. The slightly problematic part of the legacy-..."

Unfortunately at that precise moment something happened that not even the wise Dumbledore had been expecting. There was a loud pop, as if someone was Apparating, the noise was accompanied by a flash of golden light, Harry found himself flinching and when he had blinked his vision clear he heard cursing and loud coughing.

"Potter! I'm going to fucking kill you, you..." The smoke cleared slowly and Aunt Petunia screamed, Dudley took the opportunity to flee the living room and there was a stunned silence as all eyes became glued to the pile of robes on the living room floor. Harry gaped, unable to help himself while Dumbledore gazed at the apparition with wide, disbelieving eyes. The robes turned out to be a boy of about sixteen, he had shoulder length pitch black hair and a pale face. His eyes, as they scanned his surroundings were as bright silver as knives and his face was handsome. "Alright, what the hell have you done now, Potter?" The boy said furiously, his eyes landing on Harry. After a moment his eyes narrowed and he seemed to take in his surroundings properly, his mouth hung open slightly in shock. "Er...this...this isn't Hogwarts...is it?" he asked, his head turning to look at the surprised faces of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. "Where the hell have you brought us?" His eyes moved back to Harry who was unable to speak, the last time he had seen Sirius Black he had been falling through a curtain in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic. Sirius' eyes narrowed even further as he scanned Harry properly. "Whoa...man, y-you're not James...are you?" He said slowly, moving closer to get a good look at Harry. "What happened? Where am I?" He turned. "Dumbledore!" He exclaimed.

"My, my...this is rather...Unexpected." Dumbledore said slowly, seeming to regain his voice. "Sirius Black..."

"Sir, what happened? Where is this place?" Sirius waved his hand vaguely around the living room, eyes alighting on the television in the corner.

"You should not be here." Dumbledore said. "I should be asking you what happened, dear boy."

Sirius tore his eyes from the weird contraptions and blinked slowly. "Well, last thing I remember is being in the common room with James, we were practising some...er...spells and next thing I know there's a bright flash of light and now I'm...here...where ever the hell here is." He shrugged, eyes being drawn again and again to Harry who was still unable to take it in. "Hey, you look exactly like James...weird, man."

Harry leaned back as this young Sirius moved forward and leaned over him, inspecting him with narrowed eyes. "Er...I-I...uh..." Harry muttered, not comfortable with how close Sirius' face was to his.

"This is Harry Potter...James' son." Dumbledore said softly making Sirius jerk his head around quickly.

"You what? Nah, James is way too young to have a brat and this kid looks like he's the same age as us, Sir." Sirius smirked slightly. "Cool April fools guys, but you got the date wrong."

Harry shook his head, blinking rapidly in an attempt to clear it, but when he reopened his eyes Sirius was still there. "This...this is...stupid." He muttered, gazing suspiciously into his goblet as if Dumbledore had fed him some kind of hallucinogen.

"No, Sirius, I am afraid that this is not a practical joke." Dumbledore said softly, his face was grave as he spoke. "Apparently while playing with powerful magic you have been sent forward in time, the year is 1996 and you are in Surry, England."

Sirius snorted disbelief. "Time Travel? There are so many things wrong with that, man. We didn't have a Time Turner for one thing, and everyone knows you can't travel forward in time."

"Well, all good theories can be disproved." Dumbledore replied.

Slowly Sirius' face changed as he gazed around himself. "I...It's true...?" He muttered, eyes going wide. "Shit, man...that's...that's...just..." He took a shaky breath. "How am I supposed to get back?"

"There has never been any case of such a phenomenon I am afraid, for now, dear boy, you appear to be stuck."

Sirius ran fingers through his long hair, eyes flicking between Harry and Dumbledore. "I need a drink." He muttered.

"H-Here..." Harry handed him his mead, feeling sorry for him. It was all very weird, he had seen Sirius at fifteen, but that had been a memory, and he had never had the opportunity to actually communicate with him. He felt his heart flutter in his chest as he realised that after months of wanting nothing more than to see his Godfather again, it seemed that some God had taken pity on him and sent Sirius to him again.

"Thanks." Sirius smiled weakly and downed the drink. "So, where is this place?" he asked, lowering the goblet. "What's all...this." He pointed to the television where a games console was still plugged into the set.

"You are currently in the home of Petunia and Vernon Dursley." Dumbledore said.

"Right, and these people are what?" Sirius turned to look at the horsey woman and large rotund man. "Muggles?" He asked.

"Yeah...my Aunt and Uncle." Harry said slowly.

"So...you're James'...son?" Sirius returned his gaze to Harry, dismissing the adults. "You really do look exactly like him except..."

"My eyes." Harry nodded. "I have my mother's eyes."

"And she would be?" Sirius sat himself down on the arm of a sofa, ignoring Aunt Petunia's wordless exclamation. Harry was certain that the only thing keeping them silent was the fact that he had told them that his Godfather was a mass murderer.

"Lily Evans." Dumbledore said, he was frowning and seemed to be thinking the situation through.

"Lily?" Sirius' eyes widened and he nearly fell from his perch. He snorted laughter. "She hates James, last time they were in the same room she threw her bag at his face and told him to go jump in the Lake."

"They get together in your seventh year." Harry said slowly, remembering hearing the story from Sirius' older counterpart.

Sirius' silver eyes darkened and a strange look crossed his face. "Really?" He muttered quietly. "So they get married and have a sprog?" Sirius swept Harry with his eyes and smiled. "A Prongslet."

Harry flushed under Sirius' intense stare. "A...what?"

"Prongs, it's James' nickname and so that makes you a Prongslet. A mini-Prongs." He smiled revealing perfectly white teeth. "Well, where is he then? I'd like to see the James of the future."

Harry looked down at his hands, he couldn't tell him. It was Dumbledore who spoke, his voice grave. "James and Lily Potter were murdered in their own home by Lord Voldemort in 1981." He said softly, his eyes full of sympathy.

Sirius' eyes widened, his mouth fell open. "James is...? No. No I won't believe that." He shook his head in denial. "James is strong! Where was I? Why was he murdered? No...he c-couldn't..." His eyes moved from Dumbledore to Harry and back again, Harry was shocked to see that he was afraid.

"It is the truth, Sirius. Now, we must not tell you anymore, if we are to send you back to your own time you must remain ignorant."

"No!" Sirius snapped angrily. "I have a right to know..."

"Sirius, this is an unprecedented situation and must be treated with the utmost care. I am afraid we cannot tell you anything more..." Dumbledore sipped his drink thoughtfully. "Now...this has created numerous issues, my plans must be put on hold for now. We will take you both to the Burrow where we you will stay and we will try to find a way to return Sirius to his own time. Now, Harry, you must be careful of what he is told. The past cannot be changed anymore than it already has been by Sirius' arrival. Do you understand? Until we know more he must be kept ignorant."

"Y-Yes sir." Harry said, feeling horribly guilty as Sirius glared darkly at him. He looked down at his hands, feeling a whole mixture of overly complicated emotions.

At the Burrow Ron couldn't stop staring, even though Hermione had elbowed him repeatedly. Harry found Sirius' presence both disturbing and pleasant, young Sirius was loud, brash and confident, he was quick to smile and had a wicked sense of humour and apart from a streak of arrogance he was very friendly. He treated Harry like a best friend, asking him questions and getting to know him, he had accepted his situation quickly and adapted with ease, but Harry was having a harder time with it, every time he saw Sirius' eyes he could only see the older version falling through the veil and it made him sick.

The Weasley twins adored Sirius, they loved his stories of his pranks and they listened with awe as he described his adventures with the other Marauders. Things got complicated when they received a visit from Remus.

Harry was sat in the kitchen with Ron and Hermione, Sirius sat with them, looking around the place with interest when someone knocked on the door. Mrs. Weasley opened it and revealed Remus who looked tired, his robes much more patched and worn when they had been and his eyes full of shadows. "Remus! How are you dear?" Molly asked as she let him inside.

"As well as I can be, Molly." He replied softly with a weak smile.

Sirius lifted his head at the familiar name. "Remus?"

Remus' eyes widened when he saw the boy-Sirius. "It's true?" He muttered, brown eyes wide as he took in his best friend. "H-How...? I...Sirius..."

"Wow...you got old." Sirius said with a smirk. "Love the grey, Remmy. Makes you look...distinguished."

Remus looked stunned, but he seemed to physically pull himself together as he moved closer cautiously. "You look...exactly how I remember you." He breathed softly, eyes full of emotion.

Sirius raised an elegant eyebrow. "You're talking like I'm dead." Silence met his words, an awkward silence that made his eyes darken. "I see..." He sat down heavily. "So, Moony's the last of us?" He spoke to the table, his tongue darting out to wet his dry lips. "I-I...how do I die?"

Remus shook his head and sat down beside Harry. "We weren't supposed to..."

"Shit on that, Moony." Sirius snapped. "I have a right to know, it's my future."

"But if we tell you, Sirius, you'll change the future when you go back." Hermione said quietly.

"And? Wouldn't it be better that way? I could save so many lives! All I'd have to do is..."

"Dumbledore told us not to tell you." Remus made an odd, jerky movement with his hand as if he was going to touch Sirius but thought better of it and stared at the table instead.

"Dumbledore? Since when have I cared what the old man thinks? Remus, you know me!"

"I _knew_ you." Remus corrected, meeting his old friends gaze. "We knew each other as children, and then...then we were separated and when you came back I hardly knew the man you had become. But I have grown up, Sirius...you're sixteen, you don't know what happened and I..."

"You can tell me!" Sirius stood, placing his hands on the table and leaning forward eagerly. "Remus, I can stop James from dying if you just tell me what happened."

Remus gazed at Sirius, his mind swirling with all the possibilities of changing the past. He saw James' smile, as it had been when they were all at Hogwarts and he felt a pang of intense grief, he was tempted, so very, very tempted. "I..."

"He can't!" Hermione said with wide eyes. "If you change the past then there's no telling what consequences it would have! You can't seriously be considering..."

Harry stared at his hands, he wanted to change the past, he wanted to have a real family. He wanted to have what he had never known... "Would it work?" he asked softly, his gaze moving to Remus. "Could he go back and stop...stop everything. Could he give me back..."

"Harry!" Hermione looked at him with pity. "You shouldn't be playing with this, it's too big and the ramifications don't even bare thinking about!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and slumped down back into his seat. "You sound like moony." He said with a grimace. "James would always manage to get his way though..."

"I remember." Remus said with a wry smile. "Sometimes I wandered if I was a ghost, I was ignored so often."

"Not a ghost, we listen. We just choose not to follow your advice." Sirius smirked and Remus shook his head. "You know, this is surreal..." Sirius swept hair from his eyes, a gesture Harry had seen so often it sent a pang of sorrow through him, he knew Sirius couldn't stay but he wanted him to...he wanted to have him stay and fill the hole where his older self had been. "I know you...but I don't...it's very odd." Sirius frowned. "Still, while I'm here I may as well enjoy myself." He grinned lazily. "So, what do you guys do for fun around here?"

"Quidditch." Ron said with a smile. "Harry's got an amazing racing broom."

"Firebolt." Harry said.

Sirius shook his head in confusion. "Don't know what that is, sorry. James has a Nimbus 1001, now that is a racing broom! Maximum speed of 107 Mph...streamlined, beautiful and handles smoothly. Of course, James is the best Chaser ever to hit the Quidditch field...problem is, he knows it." Sirius shrugged. "I'd like to see how well you fly, Harry."

"Merlin, I remember that broom!" Remus said softly with a gentle, nostalgic smile. "James wouldn't shut up about it when he got it, must have cost him a fortune."

"A fortune he can afford." Sirius replied with a smile of his own.

"Do you have a broom?" Ron asked.

Sirius smiled. "I used to...until my parents broke it across my head when I disobeyed them last year. Haven't got another one, not that it matters, I'm not as good as James in the air...but I'm faster in a duel."

Everyone seemed to look uncomfortable at the mention of Sirius' parents, but the boy himself didn't seem to realise he had said anything strange at all, as if it was a perfectly normal thing for a parent to crack a solid wooden broom over their child's head.

Later, as the sun set over the horizon, Sirius stood at the bottom of the Burrows garden. He leaned heavily on the fence, his eyes glued to the setting sun. Harry watched him wandering if he should go and see if he was alright, until he spotted Remus step out of the kitchen and walk purposefully towards his young friend.

Sirius was smoking a battered cigarette, when Remus came to a halt at his side he looked at him out the corner of his eye. "I will never get used to it." He said softly.

"Get used to what?"

"Old Remus. I mean, you've always acted about ten thousand years older than you actually are but..." he sighed. "It's a bit much, man."

Remus smiled. "I can understand, the last time we spoke you were thirty-six."

Sirius chuckled and lifted himself up so he was sitting on the fence, he swung his legs back and forth. "Do I keep my looks?" he asked as he closed his eyes and tipped his back, the wind caught his hair and blew it around his face.

Remus was silent for a moment. "Well..."

"That doesn't sound good." Sirius opened his eyes and gazed at this strange adult Remus. "What happens to me?" He asked quietly, worry tinting his voice as his chest tightened at the impossibly grief stricken look in his friends eyes.

"I may as well tell you..." Remus said softly, he looked at his hands which were clasped as he leaned his elbows on the fence. "When James died you were accused of selling him out to Voldemort." Sirius snorted derisively but said nothing. "No one knew, no one even considered that it was actually Peter who sold them, you hunted him down and tried to kill him for his betrayal but he faked his own death and took twelve muggles with him and you went to Azkaban for as many years for the crime. When I next saw you you had escaped, using your animagus form. Azkaban had transformed you...you were...different."

"Sounds like a bundle of laughs." Sirius said quietly, pushing hair back from his face. "And this is a future I have to go back to? One of death and imprisonment...a world without James..."

"Not for a while..." Remus said quietly, he gazed at the sixteen year old at his side and memories flooded him, choking him until he had to look away.

"How old is he...when he dies?"

"Twenty one."

"Merlin..." Sirius sighed and lowered his head. "I can't do it, Moons. I can't go back and not stop it from happening..."

"I know." Remus lowered his own head and closed his eyes. "I want you to stop it." He said softly.

Sirius almost fell from his perch, his silver eyes wide. "You what? Sensible, practical Moony wants me to change the past?"

Remus' smile was broken, his grief almost palatable. "You two were...are...my best friends...My life is almost meaningless without you. Damn the consequences! If I can see James smile again I-I..." He stopped and chuckled bitterly. "But it will be impossible, Dumbledore won't allow it."

Sirius smiled, a smile Remus remembered well. "Oh, don't be so sure of that. When have I ever listened to a teacher?"


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Ok, if your wandering why Sirius is talking the way he does, let me remind you; He is from the seventies, and back then they spoke like stoners. Lol. I can imagine Sirius adopting the speech from Muggle music, a bit of television he might have caught at some point or simply from listening to muggle's talk...it would have really pissed off his parents...(Or at least that's my thinking...) also, it highlights the differences between young Sirius and older Sirius, and the differences between the 90's in which Harry lives and the 70's in which Sirius grew up. :) Hope that's cool with you lot._

_**The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of 60 minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.**__** - **__**C. S. Lewis**_

"This place has a lot of...chickens." Sirius said as he walked through the Burrow's garden beside Harry.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, but I like it here."

"Can't say that I blame you mate, after living with those Muggles most of the summer...even this place must feel like a holiday." Sirius watched a Gnome run across the lawn, Hermione's massive ginger cat, Crookshanks hot on its tail. "What is it like?"

"What is what like?" Harry asked, blinking in confusion.

"Living with Muggles!" Sirius turned large silver eyes on Harry and he felt an odd kind tightening in his gut, Sirius was close to him and his eyes glittered in a way that made Harry feel odd.

"Well...it's...boring." Harry muttered, tearing his eyes from Sirius'. "I'm not allowed to do any magic...but then, I'm not here either. But at least when I'm here I...I feel like I belong." He sighed and shook his head. "But that sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

Sirius looked at him gravely. "Not at all, mate. I understand completely."

Harry realised that he probably did, he had hated his family and he must have felt like an outcast with his beliefs. He felt a smile tug at his lips as he realised he and his Godfather had much more in common than he had first thought, this thought cheered him. Suddenly there was the bright sound of laughter and both boys turned to see Ginny Weasley stepping out from behind the Chicken coop, Hermione was at her side and they both had baskets full of eggs. When the red-head spotted them she smiled even wider and tugged on Hermione's jumper, together they walked over. Sirius leaned close to Harry, whispering in his ear. "The red-head's cute." He grinned as Harry shot him a glare.

Ginny stopped in front of them. "Hi, how did you sleep Sirius?"

Sirius smiled in response. "I think your brothers and I are kindred spirits, I had a nose through their boxes, their sense of humour is excellent, I slept fine."

"Oh! Harry, Mum's been looking for you. She say's Dumbledore will be popping by to speak to you...something about something he never got to tell you when he took you from your aunt and uncles."

"Oh, ok. Thanks, Ginny." Harry turned and walked back up to the house, Sirius didn't follow. He stood still, one hand in the pocket of a pair of battered, borrowed jeans and a small frown on his face.

"Does Harry have a girlfriend?" He asked, turning to face the two girls. Ginny flushed slightly.

"No...why?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm...no reason." Sirius grinned. "So, I bet the girls fight over him with sticks?"

Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances. "Er...not really." Ginny said, still looking uncomfortable.

Sirius' eyes widened. "What? You're kidding? James has six girlfriends under his belt...!"

"Well, you see...Harry's different." Hermione said softly. "He's got a lot of weight on his shoulders and so he hasn't had much time for dating...but he did go out with Cho Chang for a while..."

"Was she pretty?"

"I-I suppose so...why?" Hermione looked at him suspiciously.

"No reason. Just trying to get to know my future Godson, is all." He shrugged and absently kicked at a stone. His clothes were old ones that had belonged to one of the Twins, they were slightly too big, the legs of the jeans had to be rolled up several times and the t-shirt was baggy but they were comfortable. "So, I'm taking it he's already had his first kiss?"

"Yes..." Hermione's expression became more and more suspicious.

"How come he's not beating the girls off?" Sirius' eyes sharpened and he looked intently at the girls. "There must be more reasons than he's not had time..."

"Well, he's had a difficult time at Hogwarts, he's gone from being hero to enemy several times in the space of a few years...why don't you ask him these questions?"

"He won't tell me, will he? Guys don't spread that kind of stuff around. It's like...when James tried to get with Bianca Heartly in fourth year, they went on one date but didn't get any further because she wasn't putting out and James was all like 'I can't tell people this!' so he told people they'd got busy in Filch's broom cupboard on the third floor." He grinned. "Only I found out the truth from her friends...and ruined that one. I had 'Bastard' written across my forehead for two weeks after that one." He giggled.

"That's horrible! Why would he tell lies like that?" Hermione looked horrified.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "To save his rep, man. No guy wants or needs girls holding out on him, makes him look like a prude and a virgin, doesn't it? So he bends the truth."

"Harry wouldn't do that." Ginny said firmly.

"No, I guess not...He's much too naive for his own good...I should change that." He gazed back at the house with a small smirk playing on his face.

Hermione shared a confused glance with Ginny. "And how do you propose to do that?" She asked slowly.

"Oh, no one will get hurt, trust me, baby." He winked and set off back up the hill, aiming a casual kick at a gnome who scuttled away and began swearing at him and waving its little fist.

That night Harry lay awake listening to Ron's gentle snores. He sighed heavily and rolled onto his side, staring out at the dark room. Suddenly he heard a creak on the stair and sat up, the door was open a crack and he stood, moving cautiously to it and peeking through the gap. He saw a dark figure moving towards the staircase, trying to be quiet, then it stilled and he heard a soft chuckle.

"Evening, Harry." Sirius whispered. "Wanna come with me? I'm going for a smoke."

"Is that a good idea? The Burrow's under a lot of protection if we go beyond the barrier..."

Sirius tisked quietly. "We're not going beyond the barrier. I just need a nicotine fix...come on."

Harry grabbed a jacket and his glasses and followed Sirius down the stairs and out into the night, the air was cool and smelt of summer, he took a deep breath as he followed Sirius across the garden to the fence. The moon was high in the sky and Sirius removed a packet of cigarettes from his pocket before lighting up with a match, he offered the packet to Harry who declined with a shake of his head. "So," Sirius began as he shoved the cigarettes back into a pocket, he leaned back on the fence and watched Harry intently. "I've heard you're pretty similar to your mother...Evans."

"I wouldn't know." Harry replied.

"She's a goody two shoes, and loud about following rules. Worse than Moony." He smiled. "But James is obsessed with her...I think he asks her out at least three times a day." He chuckled and blew smoke from his lips as he tipped his head back so he was looking up at the night sky. "James is...a good guy." Sirius closed his eyes and smiled. "I live with him now, after running away from my parent's house..."

"I know. You told me..." Harry replied, he shivered slightly as the wind picked up.

"I did?" Sirius smiled as he looked at Harry. "Cool. Saves me having to repeat the story...what with all the screams of 'filthy Bloodtraitor', 'ponce' and 'I will not have a poufter for a son'...get's a bit tiring after a while."

Harry gaped. He had not been expecting that. "Y-You..."

"I thought you said I told you?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Not...not the details, no."

"I see. Then I'll tell you now; I slept with a couple of guys...I've never been fussy about gender when it comes to sex and my little brother ratted me out when he caught me with Fin Applewood from Hufflepuff in the second floor bathroom." He laughed quietly. "It was worth it just to see his face! But anyway, my parents found out and went mental. Tried to stop me from returning to Hogwarts, told me it was the damned schools fault that I had 'gone gay'...as if! So I ran. Better than getting my head kicked in by my father again...The Potter's took me in, great people. Treat me like a second son...and James is brilliant." He smiled softly, his eyes glittering like the stars in the sky. "I hear you haven't...explored...very much."

"I-I...what?" Harry stepped back a bit looking shocked, he felt heat flood his face and looked away. "I just...haven't met the right person." He said with a frown.

"I see...and what happens when you do? You'll want to impress them, won't you? Losing your virginity is hard, can be messy and it's embarrassing at times." Sirius watched Harry intently as he stared down at his trainers. He smirked, enjoying his discomfort. "Don't worry about it, you'll get your fair share of fun when the time comes I'm sure of it." He patted Harry on the shoulder. "Not everyone can have the same confidence as me." He winked and took a last drag on the white stick between his fingers before stamping it into the ground.

"Why are you talking about all this?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Just curious. You look like James..." Sirius' smile looked a bit forced as he gazed at Harry. "Looks like my fairy tale will never get a happy ending." He said quietly before he moved away. "Come on, let's get back."

Harry paused, a small frown on his face as the pieces clicked into place. "You were in love with my father, weren't you?"

Sirius stopped, he tipped his head back and looked up at the sky, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "Correction; I _am_ in love with him." he whispered. "He's not dead in my time...and I intend to keep it that way, even if I have to die to do it...Harry...?" He turned and gazed directly into Harry's eyes. "I'll stop it. I promise you...I don't care if I have to watch him marry Evans and play happy families, I'll die to keep him alive, understand me?"Harry could only nod and Sirius smiled wonkily again, the pain obvious in his eyes. He stepped closer, pinning Harry against the fence as he stared at him with wide eyes. Their faces were inches apart and Sirius' eyes sparkled dangerously. "So much like him..." He breathed, brushing a lock of hair from Harry's eyes. "...I could kiss you right now..." He smiled and leaned closer, Harry was too stunned to move or even blink. "But then you'd probably punch me..." His tongue darted out and wet his lips as he looked into Harry's green eyes. "I wander if it would be worth it? Maybe you'd even taste like him..."

"S-Sirius..." Harry found his voice, but it came out sounding cracked and slightly girly.

"Push me away." Sirius muttered, his eyes alight with an intense ferocity that made Harry's pulse race and his heart beat quicken. "You really should, you know...before I do something we'll both regret..." Sirius leaned closer and Harry's throat closed over in panic, he was frozen to the spot and all he could see was Sirius' lips, all he could feel was hot breath against his face...

"Harry? Oi! Harry? Where are you?" Ron's voice sliced through the air like a knife and Harry gasped in a sharp breath as Sirius stepped away and turned to the house.

"Here..." Harry began, but his voice came out rough and weak. He cleared his throat, determinedly avoiding Sirius' gaze. "Over here, Ron!" He called, thankfully sounding much more normal.

Ron's shadow moved towards them, as he drew closer they noticed he was wearing a dressing gown and slippers. "What on earth are you doing out here?" He asked sleepily. "When I woke up you were gone so I..."

"Assumed the worst." Harry said, managing a smile. "Sorry, Sirius and I were...talking." He ignored Sirius' snort that quickly turned into a fake cough, luckily Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Let's get back in...'m cold..." Ron said through a yawn in which Harry shot a glance at Sirius who was watching him with his head cocked to one side and a curious expression on his face, he looked away quickly to hide the blush that threatened to creep into his face.

"Alright, let's go." He said and began making his way back to the Burrow.

Once he was back in bed he found himself lying awake and thinking of how close Sirius had been.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Hi, wow, the interest in this story is fantastic! Thanks to all the faves, alerts etc, and of course to the ever lovely reviewers! This is the third chapter but I'm still setting things up for the main story line, some bits have been taken from the HBP book, but It's not much as I won't be sticking to canon so much in this story (obviously). I hope this doesn't bother you. Keep enjoying and keep reviewing, very soon things will be...er...hotting up... ;)_

_**The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be. **__**- **__**Paul Valery**__**  
**_

Sirius was lying on the floor of the living room with his head resting on his arms, Harry frowned when he entered and saw Crookshanks glaring at him. Sirius had narrowed his eyes and seemed to be trying to out stare the grumpy cat. Suddenly Crookshanks yowled loudly before jumping at Sirius who grabbed him and grinned as the cat struggled in his arms, Sirius laughed and released him. "Told you I would win, you git." He said as the cat shot him an angry look before slinking out of the room. "Hi, Harry. Did you sleep alright?"

Harry nodded and yawned before sitting in one of the old seats. "Yeah...You?"

Sirius nodded, resting his hands on his knees. "Oh! Some Owls came for you guys today..." He turned and grabbed a pile of letters from beside him, he handed one to Harry. "OWL results I should think."

Before Harry could speak he heard the familiar tramping of the other occupants of the Burrow as they all flooded into the room, Hermione spotted the letters and went pale. "Oh...is that...?"

Sirius smiled, fanning the letters out in one hand. "Yup." Ron took his letter but looked too afraid to open it, Hermione snatched hers and turned her back.

"I've failed everything, I know I have!" she said desperately.

Sirius barked laughter. "It's really hard to fail an OWL, Hermione."

"But..."

"Oh just open it already!" Ron snapped as he tore open his letter.

There was silence as everyone stared at their results. Harry looked around. Hermione had her back to him and her head bent, but Ron was looking delighted.

"Only failed Divination and History of Magic, and who cares about them?" he said happily to Harry. "Here... swap..."

Harry glanced down Ron's grades: There were no "Outstandings" there...

"Knew you'd be top at Defence Against the Dark Arts," said Ron, punching Harry on the shoulder. "We've done all right, haven't we?"

"Well done!" said Mrs. Weasley proudly, ruffling Ron's hair. "Seven O.W.L.s, that's more than Fred and George got together!"

"Hermione?" said Ginny tentatively, for Hermione still hadn't turned around. "How did you do?"

"I-not bad," said Hermione in a small voice.

"Oh, come off it," said Ron, striding over to her and whipping her results out of her hand. "Yep... ten 'Outstandings' and one 'Exceeds Expectations' at Defence Against the Dark Arts." He looked down at her, half-amused, half-exasperated. "You're actually disappointed, aren't you?"

Hermione shook her head, but Harry laughed. "What did you get for your results, Sirius?" Hermione asked as they made their way into the kitchen for breakfast, Sirius smiled, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Outstanding in everything except History of Magic, mainly because I hardly ever turn up for that lesson..." He laughed at Hermione's scandalised expression.

"Sirius, that's not something you should be teaching the children..." Molly began then realised who she was talking to. "Oh, never mind." She sighed.

Afterwards they went into the Orchard to play Quidditch, Hermione sat on the ground and watched Sirius have a go on Harry's broom, he was good, but not as good as Harry who spent some time chasing apples that Sirius threw into the air for him to catch.

"Wow! You could give James a run for his money, Prongslet!" Sirius called, a big grin on his face.

Harry smiled back as he made yet another spectacular catch, the apple Sirius threw suddenly made a sharp dive to the left and Hermione saw Sirius with his wand out and a small frown of concentration on his face. "You can't do magic outside school!" She gasped.

Sirius sent her a look. "We're surrounded by adults, the trace isn't going to pick up on who is actually performing the magic...even with that I very much doubt the trace would even pick me up! I have broken the boundaries of everything we knew about magic..." He smiled and gave his wand a jerk so the apple flew high into the sky, Harry went after it, his hand outstretched and suddenly the apple dropped altitude, forcing Harry to make a stunning dive to snatch it before it hit the ground. Sirius whooped and clapped excitedly. Harry landed, the apple clutched in his hand and a smile on his face as Sirius clapped him on the back. "Nice catch man...I honestly reckon James would hate you for being better than him!"

"He would?" Harry looked uncertain.

"In a friendly way...kinda how I hate Moony for being brainy." He smiled and Harry looked reassured. Neither of them had spoken about the previous night, Sirius took Harry's lead on not mentioning it...but it didn't stop him from wandering what would have happened if he had kissed him.

"You know non-verbal spells?" Hermione asked as they all sat down in the grass, she had a book in her hands, one finger marking the page she had been reading.

"Of course!" Sirius shook hair from his face. "You'll start learning them too this year, but I had the advantage of having parents who insisted I learn advanced spells well before they would teach them at Hogwarts." He shrugged. "It's all about concentration...focussing on what you want."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "You know, you're very intelligent...I can't understand why you insist on breaking rules all the time and rebelling..."

Sirius laughed, leaning back on his hands as he gazed up at the sky. "When you have been surrounded by rules and regulations all your life you start hating them...I don't do as I'm told because life would be meaningless...rules are made to be broken, Sweetheart."

Hermione flushed slightly but looked indignant. "But the rules are usually in place for our own protection!" She insisted.

Sirius grinned. "You've obviously never broken the rules!"

"I have! Several times in fact..."

"She's followed us on many of our...er...rule breaking trips." Harry said with a small smile.

"Hmm? So little miss prissy isn't so prissy then? What were these adventures then? I want the whole story."

Between them Harry, Ron and Hermione began regaling Sirius with tales of their adventures, starting with the Philosophers Stone and ending with the Ministry of Magic the previous school year. But, when they reached the battle for the Prophecy Harry fell silent and Sirius raised an eyebrow curiously. "When the Order were fighting, you ended up battling your cousin, Bellatrix..."

"Bella?" Sirius' eyes sharpened like knives and they glittered oddly like two molten stars.

"Yeah...but she...hit you with some kind of spell and...and you fell through the veil..."

Sirius went silent for a long time, he was looking at Harry carefully. "So that's how I die? Bella kills me?" He asked softly.

"Well, it's my fault...really..." Harry lifted his head and the guilt was obvious in his face.

"How in Merlin's name is my death your fault?"

"It was my fault you were there, if I had only listened to Ron and Hermione...If I'd only stayed put you'd never have been there! If I'd..."

"Whoa! Hold your horses there, by the sounds of it you don't know me at all! Merlin, Harry! I'd have wanted to save you, and trust me when I say nothing would ever stand between me and someone I loved if they were in trouble...if you have anything of your father in you it's probably the same. I'm grateful, honestly I am, but you need to stop blaming yourself. I'm sure future me wouldn't blame you. And Bella's a sadistic cow, she was always threatening to kill me..." Sirius shrugged and ran fingers through his hair. "It was obviously meant to happen."

That evening they returned to the house for dinner, Bill had bought Fleur to stay for a while and get to know his family, she was waiting for them when they entered. She swooped down on Harry like a beautiful bird as she greeted him, pecking both cheeks and smiling. Sirius watched her curiously, as she greeted the others before turning to him. "And 'oo is zis 'andsome young man?" She asked with a smile.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Sirius Black. Vous êtes?" He said in flawless French, Fleur's smile brightened.

"Vous parlez très bien français, c'est beau à voir." She replied.

Sirius shrugged. "My family forced me to learn." He said with a smile. "Also, the ladies love it."

"Ah, you cheeky leettle thing!" Fleur admonished him with a smile before sweeping off.

"Veela..." Sirius breathed softly, watching her leave.

"Yeah, her grandmother's one." Harry said, looking amused at Ron's distant expression.

"And she's marrying your brother?" Sirius asked Ron who shook his head to try and clear it.

"Yeah..."

"Ugh, she does my head in." Ginny muttered darkly. "She talks to me as if I'm about five years old!"

Hermione grimaced but remained silent as they entered the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley was preparing lunch.

After Lunch Sirius went outside to have a smoke, he sat in a tree in the Orchard and gazed up at the sky. He remembered how he had come to be thrown into the future;

"_Padfoot!"_

_Sirius turned to see James looking excited, he held a book in one hand and his wand in the other. "Yes, Mr. Prongs?"_

"_I have found a new spell and I wish to try it out, stand up."_

"_You want to experiment on me?" Sirius raised an eyebrow as he sat up on his bed._

"_Yeah, no one else will let me." James pouted, ruffling his hair up. "Moony told me to go bugger myself and Peter ran away from me...come on, I won't hurt you! Please?" _

_Sirius sighed heavily, sweeping hair from his eyes as he stood and removed his own wand. "Only if you tell me what it is you're going to do."_

"_Excellent! Knew you'd do it..." James threw the book at Sirius who caught it and opened it at the marked page. "It's a spell that is supposed to let you see into the future! How cool is that?"_

_Sirius snorted in disbelief. "I doubt it'll work but you can try it out on me, if you must."_

"_Let me know if I marry Evans..." James smirked and lifted his wand. _

"_Wait!" Sirius held up his hand, James glared at him._

"_What now? Don't chicken out on me, man."_

"_I'm not!" Sirius snapped angrily, he took two strides towards James so they were inches apart. "I just want a last kiss in case you blast me into tiny little bite-sized Padfoot pieces..." He smiled and James returned it. The dorm was silent and they were alone, so James grabbed Sirius around the waste, pulling him close and pressing their lips together. Sirius tried to deepen the kiss but James pulled away with an evil smirk._

"_You can have more when I've perfected the spell, Pads."_

_Sirius sighed softly. "Why you want Evans when I'm right here whenever you need me I'll never understand." He muttered, plucking absently as James' collar._

"_Because she's a girl with breasts." James replied, a frown marring his forehead. "You know I'm straight."_

"_Oh yeah?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "And the fact that you enjoy fucking your best friend, who is definitely male, when you can't have the girl is obvious proof of this..."_

_James snorted and pushed Sirius away from him. "We've had this conversation before, mate, what we have is purely stress relief...when we started this you knew what you were getting into. What, has the eternal bachelor finally fallen for someone?"_

_Sirius straightened his back and sneered. "No!"_

"_Then what's the problem?"_

"_I...Bugger it! Never mind...let's get this over with." Sirius stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. "Fuck this up, Prongsy and I will murder you. I like my face the way it is."_

"_As do I." James grinned and lifted his wand again._

_The last thing Sirius had seen was that cheeky smile and a bright flash of golden light before he had ended up sprawled on the living room floor of Number Four Privet Drive._

Sirius closed his eyes against the bright summer sunlight. "James..." He whispered softly, pushing fingers into his hair and drawing his knees to his chest. He had his back against the gnarled trunk of one ancient apple tree, he could feel the heat blasting down on him from the sun and it reminded him of childish laughter, pranks and sweet kisses in the dark. He sighed and brought his cigarette to his lips, taking a deep drag before blowing out the smoke from his lips. He wandered what he would do if he never got home again, he couldn't even imagine his life without James, Remus and even Peter...he simply could not imagine himself alone. He closed his eyes tightly as he pictured James' smiling face and felt his heart ache in his chest.

"Hey, Sirius!"

Sirius jumped at the voice and looked down, he saw Harry gazing up at him, those fascinating green eyes shaded by one hand. "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

Sirius smiled. "I'm fine...come join me, Mr. Potter." He shifted over on his branch as Harry climbed up to his side and sat down, legs swinging on either side of it.

"Why are you up here?" Harry asked, a slight breeze ruffling his hair.

"Just...thinking." Sirius smiled softly, cocking his head to the side.

"About what?"

Sirius shrugged. "About...the past...the future...whatever else there is to think about." _About James..._But he left that bit out, Harry didn't need to know anymore than he had been told. He didn't need to know that he had let James use him, all because of some stupid childish hope that James would reciprocate his feelings.

"Oh." Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it usually was. "It's a nice day today..." He muttered.

Sirius chuckled. "The weather? Of all the things you could talk about...you choose the _weather_?"

"Well...what else am I supposed to talk about?" Harry asked indignantly.

"I dunno, _anything_! I'm all ears, Prongslet."

"You're...a lot different to the man I knew." Harry said slowly, looking at Sirius carefully.

"Well, I suspect that would be because I must have grown up at some point." Sirius smirked.

"There is that...but...Maybe your time in Azkaban made you go a bit...funny in the head."

"I've always been funny in the head, Harry. Or so James would always tell me...he insisted on reminding me over and over again that I lacked certain basic human emotions..." He shrugged. "But I suppose that's what happens when your parents are related...the kid comes out a bit...odd."

Harry looked away, for some reason he didn't like watching Sirius talk about his home life, it seemed even worse than his own and that made him feel guilty. "What...what were your parents really like? You didn't tell me much when you were...well...older..."

"Mum's a complete cow." Sirius replied softly. "Spent most of her time screaming at me and telling me how worthless I was, how wonderful my little brother was...My father was...distant, until he drank and then he..." Sirius trailed off with a sigh. "But I'm away from all that now." He smiled brightly. "They don't matter, they never did. It's in the past and I have my future to concentrate on. What about you? How do the Muggles treat you?" He leaned forward curiously.

"Well...pretty much the same." Harry smiled. "Uncle Vernon likes to use his fists, Aunt Petunia would rather I didn't exist...and Dudley...well...he liked to practice boxing on me, until he found out I was a Wizard...managed to scare him into believing I could use magic outside school. The bullying eased off afterwards, I even got my own room after spending years in a cupboard under the stairs."

"You slept in a cupboard?" Sirius looked shocked. "Hmm...well, if I'm still here by the time I turn seventeen then they can expect some vengeance..." His grey eyes darkened like storm clouds and his smile was slightly sadistic. "I could make them regret ever being cruel to you..."

"No...it's fine." Harry smiled, but Sirius' eyes didn't lighten. "Honestly, they're just afraid of me and..."

Sirius snorted. "Of course they're afraid of you, Harry! You're a Wizard! You can do things they'll never be able to do in their wildest dreams...the difference between you and them is that you are _strong_." He leaned forward slightly. "They will never have the power you do and it frightens them, so they try and squash you...put you down so that they can feel bigger than they actually are. But Harry, _you're_ the big one! You're the one who holds all the power..." He grabbed Harry's hand and closed it into a fist, his own fingers tightening around it. "You can do whatever you want and they will never, ever be able to stop you! _Use it_."

"That sounds like something a Slytherin would say." Harry said softly.

"Doesn't make it any less true." Sirius lifted Harry's head with a finger beneath his chin. "I'm not saying Wizards need to rule, that's bullshit made up by Dark Wizards...all I'm saying is that those who hurt us should be punished." He smiled, cocking his head to the side. "They need to learn that they can't bully you anymore. I ran away from those who hurt me, I ran because they were stronger than me...but you have the advantage! I'm sure you can find a way to scare them into leaving you alone..."

Harry realised how close Sirius was, he couldn't stop the blush from suffusing his face as the other boy leaned closer. "S-Siri..."

"It's fine. No one's around." Sirius replied, sliding his hand around the back of Harry's neck and letting his breath tickle his face.

"W-Wait...!" Harry tried to struggle backwards, unfortunately he dislodged Sirius who's eyes widened as he slipped from his perch, he pulled Harry with him and they fell towards the ground. But, as the grass rushed closer and he squeezed his eyes shut, he felt a sudden jolt behind his naval and when he next opened his eyes he found his face inches from a jagged looking stone.

Sirius broke into hysterics, Harry turned his head to see that he too was floating. Then they both fell the rest of the way, managing to only get a bruise or two. Sirius continued to laugh, rolling around in the grass, Harry eventually joined him and their laughter reached the high blue sky.

_**End Note: Yes, Sirius was sleeping with James. I have an obsession with that pairing so it haunts many of my other fics as well, sorry, lol. Don't worry, that relationship is merely a catalyst, I am not one for Love at First Sight, there will always need to be something that provokes a relationship in my stories...it doesn't happen overnight. Also, I hope people aren't expecting fluff...I hate fluff, it makes me ill...I'm like...Anti-fluff! :/ Also, in my opinion Sirius Black is way too dark to be involved in fluffy romance...his character needs something deeper, more passionate...and less vomit worthy. Sorry to all those readers expecting light hearted fluff (Ugh)... **_


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: So, I'm vaguely following canon in this chapter, but with a few twists and extra's of my own. I am enjoying this, hope you are too! Thanks again for the lovely reviews and to all those who have faved and alerted. My love to you all. Would appreciate any comments on the story so far, sorry if it seems to be going a bit slow, but I promise you things will get going at a faster pace soon, like I said, I'm just setting the board, my pieces are in place! :D _

_**It is my feeling that Time ripens all things; with Time all things are revealed; Time is the father of truth.**__** - **__**Francois Rabelais**_

Harry's sixteenth Birthday celebration was marred by grisly news, Ollivander had gone missing along with many others. The Prophet was reporting mysterious deaths and other disappearances. It was the day after he had received a visit from Dumbledore who had finally told him that he would be taking extra lessons with him, and he had finally told Ron and Hermione about the truth behind the prophecy.

Sirius didn't let Harry know that he had overheard the conversation between him and his friends, he hadn't even tried to listen, but curiosity had overcome him and he had peeked through the gap in Ron's bedroom door as the three had been whispering softly to each other. He was shocked to hear that Harry was the one who was Prophesised to bring down Lord Voldemort, he didn't set much store in Prophecy, being more inclined to follow his own destiny, but it seemed that Harry had little choice. He wondered how the boy managed to stay sane with everything that had happened to him, and his respect for the boy grew.

During the birthday celebrations, as Molly was handing around cake Remus told them of the news, he looked ill and tired. "There have been another couple of dementor attacks," he announced, as Mrs. Weasley passed him a large slice of birthday cake. "And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it... well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother, Regulus, only managed a few days as far as I can remember."

"Yes, well," said Mrs. Weasley, frowning, "perhaps we should talk about something diff..."

Sirius froze, he had been petting Crookshanks and he slowly lifted his head. "What's this?" He asked softly, his silver eyes scanning Remus who looked suddenly shocked as he realised Sirius was there.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, I..."

"No...explain. Is Reg dead in this time as well?"

Remus took a slow breath, everyone else was silent. "From what we managed to find out, he joined the Death Eaters when he turned eighteen but got cold feet and tried to leave...they killed him for it...I'm sorry..."

Sirius gazed down at his hand which rested on the great ginger cats back. "Well..." He said slowly. "I guess he kind of deserved it then...Thinking he can escape the Death Eaters..." He sighed. "Stupid fool...he always was weak."

Harry shared a nervous glance with Remus who shrugged slightly, Sirius was scratching Crookshanks behind the ear but he had a small frown on his handsome face, his eyes were dark, seeming to suck in the light from the fire and it was impossible to tell what was going on in his head.

Harry found Sirius outside as evening fell around them, he was lying in the grass and gazing up at the stars, when Harry joined him he smiled but said nothing. "How are you?" Harry asked finally breaking the silence.

"Everything's so...different..." Sirius replied slowly, a small frown on his face. "Everyone I have ever cared about is dead or older...I...I'm not sure what I should be feeling to be honest. It's so messed up."

Harry nodded. "I can kind of understand."

Sirius chuckled. "If they ever do find a way to send me back...I'm not sure if I'll want to go...I mean, if this is the future, then I may as well stay here. I don't fancy being locked up for years for something I would never, ever do."

"Things could have been different, If only Pettigrew hadn't escaped."

"I guess..." Sirius frowned darkly. "What the hell possessed my older self to put James' life in that Worm's hands? How could I have been so...so _stupid_? He's always been pathetic...weak little fat kid who followed James around and made an idiot of himself." Sirius' mouth twisted with anger. "Annoys the hell out of me, but James always seemed to like him so I never said anything."

"You don't like Peter?" Harry turned his head so he was looking at Sirius who was glaring up at the sky.

"No. And who would? He's a brown nose. Afraid of his own shadow...like when James and I finally managed to perfect our animagus forms, Peter nearly killed himself trying to do it and it took us _months_ to help him! How thick can one person be? I mean, if it wasn't for James' insistence that he wanted us all to help Remus then I wouldn't have bothered...Not surprising he's a rat."

Harry chuckled. "What's it like? Being an animal...?"

"It's...freeing." Sirius replied after a pause, a small smile curled his lips. "Although your mind is different, and you don't...think, exactly, everything's instinctual. Even in human form you find that your senses are heightened than they were before. I can hear things better, smell things I never would have before and I can understand Animals in a way I never could...It's amazing, but slightly dangerous, you want to be careful you don't lose yourself completely to the animal, or else you'll forget you're human."

"Can that happen?"

"Oh yeah, course it can. It's one of the reasons the Ministry insist on controlling those who want to do it, and why most Wizards never bother. But I'm so glad we did do it." He smiled brilliantly, revealing those white, sharp teeth. "Now Moony'll never be lonely on a full moon! When we're with him he's in control and we can go wherever we want! It's great."

Harry returned his smile, feeling happy. He enjoyed young Sirius' company, they seemed to get on well and Sirius was always good to talk to. As they lay there the moon rose above them, a bright silver orb, a day from its full. Sirius watched it, bathing in its glow as stars scattered the black sky, twinkling down at them.

"Harry!" Harry sat up and looked over towards the house, he saw Ginny running towards him. "Dumbledore's here, he said he wants to speak to Sirius..." She was panting slightly, her eyes narrowed briefly when she saw how close Sirius' hand was to Harry's but she said nothing.

"Alright..." Sirius stood, brushing himself down and helping Harry to his feet. Together they walked back up to the house.

They found Dumbledore in the living room, he looked grave. Molly was stood at his side she smiled when the boys entered. "I would speak with Sirius alone, if you will." The Headmaster said softly and Molly ushered the other two out of the kitchen, Harry shot Sirius a worried glance, Sirius merely shrugged. "Sit down..."

Sirius did as asked. "So, sir, have you found a way to send me back?" He asked slowly.

"Unfortunately we have not, although we are searching diligently. I am here because I am concerned for you...how have you been sleeping?"

Sirius smiled weakly. "I haven't." He replied. "But you knew that already, didn't you sir?"

"I had my suspicions." Dumbledore looked at the sixteen year old sadly. "Have you felt tired at all?" Sirius shook his head, leaning heavily on one hand. "I see...Then, my next question; how has your health been?"

"I...get headaches sometimes...and my vision goes blurry...but it's not bad."

"Good, good." Dumbledore sighed softly, he looked worn and tired. "I suppose that Harry and the others have filled you in on what is happening and what has happened?"

"They have sir, I'm dead, James is dead...my brothers dead...My family's extinct in the male line. My cousin murdered me..." He closed his eyes briefly and rubbed his eyes with his hand. "It's going to get worse, isn't it?" he whispered softly. "If I'm stuck here for good...eventually Old Remus will die too and I...I...won't have anyone left..."

"I am sorry." Dumbledore's voice was quiet but filled with sympathy, he watched the boy, only sixteen years old but weighed down with the knowledge that he would lose everything all in one night. "This is one of many reasons why we must return you to your time...there have been consequences to your displacement already...things have changed, subtly, of course...but they change none the less. We must find a way to return you."

"What if...what if I don't want to go?" Sirius lifted his eyes to the Headmasters. "If I return I've only got James' death to look forward to...I-I'll have to watch him, burdened by the knowledge that he's going to die at the age of twenty-one! I can't do it! Please, find a way to stop me from going back!"

Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "I am afraid I cannot do that, Sirius. I have a theory that if you stay the effects would be terrible...already there are things that should have happened but have not happened...or things are happening that shouldn't be happening. Like the wings of a butterfly that causes a storm, your presence here is wrong. When we discover how to right everything...you will have your memory altered, we must erase the knowledge of James' death from your mind..."

"But why?" Sirius sat up straighter, eyes wide.

"Because he must not be saved, Sirius. I know you well enough to understand that you have every intention of changing the past...I cannot allow this to happen. Without James' death we will lose perhaps our only hope of destroying Lord Voldemort once and for all..."

Sirius' hands tightened into fists, his eyes narrowed. "You're using Harry." He whispered softly. "You're...you're sacrificing him...to...well, I don't know why...but that's...I can't let that happen!"

"I am doing nothing that Harry would not do anyway, I have every intention of arming him against what he must face...but he must face it in the end. It is the only way. He knows what it is he has to do, and he has decided he will walk this path. That is a decision he made on his own."

Sirius stared across the table at Dumbledore, the silence stretched out impossibly until he took a slow breath. "Fine...is that all sir?" He said softly.

"Yes, and Sirius?" Sirius paused with his hand on the door, he looked back over his shoulder. "If we do not find a way to send you back to your own time before school starts I want you to return to Hogwarts with Harry...this is so that I may keep an eye on you."

"Yes sir." Sirius nodded and pulled the door open, stepping into the living room. He leaned against it and tipped his head back so he was looking at the ceiling. "If the old man thinks I'm just going to let Harry be manipulated he's wrong." He smiled slightly and chuckled to himself. "Stuff the future...I'll carve my own path, James won't die...I promise you that."

XXX

Once everyone had received their book lists for that year, they planned a trip to Diagon Alley. Sirius stood with the rest of the Weasley's outside the house and watched a car pull up in the driveway, his eyes widened. "We're going in that?" He turned to Harry who nodded. "wow! I've never been in a car before!" He hopped excitedly from one foot to the other.

"What? You have cars in your time...surely?" Ron said.

"We do, but with parents like mine going in a car would be like...speaking to a Muggle...it's simply not done." He smiled, eyes glittering behind his fringe. "James' dad is afraid of cars, reckons anything that moves without magic is suspicious." He laughed softly. "These Muggles are fantastic!"

Harry watched Sirius all the way to Charing Cross as he peered excitedly out the window, gasping and bouncing up and down in his seat while Ron sniggered at his antics and Hermione giggled. Finally, when they reached the Motorway Sirius rolled down the window and stuck his head out, the wind whipped his hair around his head and he whooped in delight.

When they reached the Leaky Cauldron they saw Hagrid waiting for them, he was beaming as Harry jumped out of the car and was swept up into a bone crushing embrace. When Hagrid saw Sirius he smiled and took his hand. "This is a bit weird..." Hagrid said. "I remember havin' ta ge' you ou' the forest several times when you were this age..."

Sirius grinned. "It was literally only a few days ago that happened for me, Hagrid."

"Aye, 'tis a strange thing...anyway, shall we ge' on then?"

Molly nodded and together they entered the Alley. The street was full of people rushing around in tight knit groups, heads bowed and harried looks on their faces. The shop windows were covered by large posters, some bearing Ministry advice, others blown up pictures of the escaped Death Eaters, outside one shop Sirius paused and gazed up into the familiar and insolent eyes of his cousin Bellatrix. "She got old too." He said quietly, his emotions hidden behind a mask of indifference. He felt an awful squirming sensation when he looked into those insolent eyes, he remembered being ten years old when Bella had decided to make him her toy for the afternoon, she had used him for target practise and no matter how many times he asked her to stop, she only laughed at him as his mother looked on with cold eyes. With a sharp shiver he moved away and followed the Weasley's.

They eventually split up, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius going with Hagrid to get new robes in Madam Malkin's. When they entered the shop, with Hagrid standing guard outside they were greeted by a voice;

"... not a child, in case you haven't noticed, Mother. I am perfectly capable of doing my shopping alone."

Harry dipped his hand into his pocket and Sirius raised an eyebrow in question as a boy moved towards a mirror. The boy had a pale, pointed face and white blond hair.

"Merlin!" Sirius muttered softly. "A Malfoy...?"

"Draco Malfoy." Harry replied. "Lucius' son."

Sirius sneered as Draco caught sight of them in the mirror. "Mother, if you're wondering what that smell is, a Mudblood just walked in." He said.

"I don't think there's any need for language like that!" said Madam Malkin, scurrying out from behind the clothes rack holding a tape measure and a wand. "And I don't want wands drawn in my shop either!" she added hastily, for a glance toward the door had shown her Harry and Ron both standing there with their wands out and pointing at Malfoy.

Hermione, who was standing slightly behind them, whispered, "No, don't, honestly, it's not worth it."

"Yeah, like you'd dare do magic out of school," sneered Malfoy. "Who blacked your eye, Granger? I want to send them flowers."

"That's quite enough!" said Madam Malkin sharply, looking over her shoulder for support. "Madam-please-"

Narcissa Malfoy strolled out from behind the clothes rack.

"Put those away," she said coldly to Harry and Ron. "If you attack my son again, I shall ensure that it is the last thing you ever-..." Her eyes widened as she spotted Sirius, who was leaning causally against the wall. "Impossible!" She gasped, stepping backwards.

"Mother?" Draco frowned at her odd reaction and followed his mother's gaze. "Who...?"

"Well, well...if it isn't dearest Narcissa." Sirius drawled, smiling as he pushed hair from his eyes. "You look...older than I remember you."

"Sirius!" She shook her head, hardly daring to believe what she was seeing. "You're dead!"

"Apparently so. Killed by your loving sister...and yet here I stand." He chuckled as her face drained of what little colour it had. "Whatever is the matter? Not pleased to see your cousin...after all it's been years, hasn't it?"

"But you look..."

"Sixteen. Great, isn't it?" His smile was wolfish, he seemed to be enjoying her terror. "Your son looks like his father..." He glanced at Draco who was gazing at him with wide eyes.

"How?" Narcissa breathed.

"Magic is powerful, isn't it?" He said softly, his voice like silk and yet as dangerous as the hiss of a snake. "I wouldn't want to give away any secrets of course, that would ruin it."

"No magic can bring back the dead!"

"Can't it? Am I not standing right here before you? I'm as solid as anything here..." As an example he picked up a pin from a nearby table and pricked his finger, a single drop of crimson stained his skin. "See? I'm no ghost."

Harry tried to keep the smirk off his face as Draco watched the exchange with wide eyes and Narcissa looked more and more terrified. Ron seemed to be enjoying himself too, but Hermione watched Sirius with a worried expression. Madam Malkin's mouth had fallen open as she gazed at the boy in her shop. "No! I will not believe...this is..."

"I'm as real as you, Cissy." Sirius muttered, licking the blood absently from the wound, Narcissa flushed when he used her pet name. "There are strange things happening, I bet even your precious Dark Lord didn't know this was possible."

"How though? How did you come back?" Draco's eyes were glittering with fascination as he stepped closer, ignoring his mother's hand on his shoulder as he shook himself free.

Sirius shrugged. "The real question is, why would I tell you?"

"We're family." Draco straightened himself out.

Sirius let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Haven't you seen the family tree? I was disowned."

Draco frowned, glancing at his mother who shook her head. "Draco, come. We're leaving."

"But..."

"Now!"

Irritably Draco removed the robes and dropped them unceremoniously onto the floor, they left quickly and Ron sniggered. "Nice one, mate! They looked terrified."

Sirius shrugged. "It's fun to scare people..." He grinned.

"I really think that was dangerous, Sirius...what if they go back and start telling people Harry can bring people back from the dead?"

"Then they'll think he has a greater power than the Dark Lord." Sirius replied, still smiling evilly. "It's harmless fun, Hermione."

"I don't know...I'm worried..."

"Relax Hermione, it'll be alright. Did you see Malfoy's face? He's going to be convinced Harry's more powerful than him!" Ron laughed as he walked further into the shop. Hermione continued to look worried, even after Harry had tried to reassure her.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Again, following Canon here, but with many changes! :D hope your still enjoying and, as always, thank you all so much for the interest you're showing in my story! You make this humble author very happy! Thank you.

_**Know how to live the time that is given you.**__** - **__**Dario Fo**_

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was like heaven to Sirius, he stood in the shop gaping around at it all as if he could hardly believe it was real. Then he let out a moan of longing and shot off to inspect some interesting tricks. He spent a good long while exploring every inch of the shop, inspecting the merchandise and exclaiming loudly to anyone who would listen about how amazing everything was. Harry watched him in amusement, Sirius had been quiet and unusually sober as they had walked away from Madam Malkin's but now he was here he seemed to have shaken off his melancholy and was now laughing with the Weasley Twins. For a while Harry lost them as Hermione spotted some Patented Daydream Charms, when he next found Sirius it was to see him leaning against the desk where the till stood and talking to a blond witch in magenta robes, she was giggling and blushing and as Harry drew nearer he realised Sirius was flirting heavily.

"I guess you can kiss Heaven goodbye, because it has got to be a _sin_ to look that good." Sirius said with a flash of brilliant white teeth, he held her hand lightly and was looking directly into her eyes as she giggled.

"You're too kind..."

"Unfortunately, I had a spell put on me and it means I can only speak the truth...You are divine..."

"Oh dear..." Harry turned to see George stood at his side. "Is he really using those old chat up lines?"

"It's working!" His twin exclaimed. "Merlin! I need to get tips..."

"Verity smacked me last time I tried it on with her." George looked a little sulky. "Good god! Would you look at that bastard go?"

Harry watched Sirius lean close, seemingly on the pretence of smoothing a strand of hair from her cheek.

"Nah, no one's that good...surely..."

"George, he's showing us up...time to break up the party." Fred moved forwards quickly. "Verity, we have loads of customers, it's really not good business to have them see you flirting in the middle of the shop."

"Oh! Oh...I'm sorry Mr. Wealsey..." She jumped and ran off back into the crowd, Fred smirked evilly and Sirius pouted, drumming his fingers on the wood.

"Spoil sports." He said with a tiny smirk. "I could teach you if you wanted advice..."

"The day we need advice in picking up girls from a sixteen year old is a sad day for the Weasley Twins!" George muttered irritably.

"Ah, so close...I reckon she would've given me her used knickers if you'd given a few more moments."

"That's disgusting..." Harry looked shocked and Sirius laughed.

"I'm joking Prongslet! Calm your pretty little head." He strode over and put an arm around his shoulders. "I could teach you how to do that, you know? Talk properly to the ladies."

"You're way too smooth for your own good..." Harry muttered as he was steered through the crowds.

"Now _that_ is something Prongs would say."

They found the rest of the Weasley's by the window, when they neared Hermione looked up to see Harry laughing loudly with Sirius hanging off his shoulder. "Where have you been?" She asked quietly.

"Oh, here and there..." Sirius said vaguely.

"He was chatting up Verity, our help." Fred said as he materialised from the crowd. "He has some serious skills..." He added bitterly.

Ron turned. "Hey, can you teach me?" He asked.

"Yeah, because ikle Ronnie-kin's needs all the help he can get!" Ron shot his brother a glare as his ears went red.

"It's all about confidence at the end of the day." Sirius said with a shrug, he ran fingers through his hair and a group of girls in the corner glanced at him and giggled. "But, it does help if you look like me." He grinned and Ron looked disheartened.

"Mum, can I have a Pygmy Puff?" said Ginny from where she stood beside a cage full of small balls of fluff that were emitting high pitched squeaking noises.

"A what?" said Mrs. Weasley warily.

"Look, they're so sweet..."

Mrs. Weasley moved aside to look at the Pygmy Puffs, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione momentarily had an unimpeded view out of the window. Draco Malfoy was hurrying up the street alone. As he passed Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, he glanced over his shoulder. Seconds later, he moved beyond the scope of the window and they lost sight of him.

"Interesting..." Sirius muttered softly, he still had a hand on Harry's shoulder but his eyes were scanning the street.

"Wonder where his mummy is?" said Harry, frowning.

"Given her the slip by the looks of it," said Ron.

"Why, though?" said Hermione.

Harry said nothing; he was thinking too hard. Narcissa Malfoy would not have let her precious son out of her sight willingly; Malfoy must have made a real effort to free himself from her clutches.

Harry, knowing and loathing Malfoy, was sure the reason could not be innocent.

He glanced around. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were bending over the Pygmy Puffs. Mr. Weasley was delightedly examining a pack of Muggle marked playing cards. Fred and George were both helping customers. On the other side of the glass, Hagrid was standing with his back to them, looking up and down the street.

"Get under here, quick," said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag.

"Oh...I don't know, Harry," said Hermione, looking uncertainly toward Mrs. Weasley.

"Come on," said Ron.

She hesitated for a second longer, then ducked under the cloak with Harry and Ron. There wasn't enough room for all of them, so, while all eyes were elsewhere Sirius ducked his head down and transformed into a dog where he was small enough to slip through the crowds and past Hagrid.

Hagrid didn't even notice the sleek, black dog slipping past him and bounding down the street, Harry and the others followed beneath the cloak.

Padfoot paused to sniff, following the distinct scent of the boy and turning down Knockturn Alley, he could hear the others trying to keep up. He slid stealthily down the dark Alley, nose pressed to the ground until he stopped outside a door and sat down, his tongue lolling out as he heard the soft shuffle of several sets of feet pause beside him. Harry looked up at the shop window and realised that they were outside Borgin and Burkes. Padfoot whinged by his side and his tail thumped the ground, but Harry could see Malfoy speaking to the proprietor. "We need to be able to hear what..."

"Hang on..." Ron dug around in his pockets and withdrew several long, flesh-like strings. "Extendable ears!" He exclaimed happily as they fed them beneath the door.

Harry listened and watched.

"... you know how to fix it?"

"Possibly," said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. "I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?"

"I can't," said Malfoy. "It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it."

Harry saw Borgin lick his lips nervously.

"Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible. I couldn't guarantee anything."

"No?" said Malfoy, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. "Perhaps this will make you more confident."

He moved toward Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.

"Tell anyone," said Maifoy, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention."

"There will be no need for-"

"I'll decide that," said Malfoy. "Well, I'd better be off. And don't forget to keep that one safe, I'll need it."

"Perhaps you'd like to take it now?"

"No, of course I wouldn't, you stupid, little man, how would I look carrying that down the street? Just don't sell it."

"Of course not... sir."

Borgin made a bow as deep as the one Harry had once seen him give Lucius Malfoy.

"Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand?"

"Naturally, naturally," murmured Borgin, bowing again.

Next moment, the bell over the door tinkled loudly as Malfoy stalked out of the shop looking very pleased with himself. He passed so close to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that they felt the cloak flutter around their knees again. Inside the shop, Borgin remained frozen; his unctuous smile had vanished; he looked worried.

Harry frowned thoughtfully and felt something tug at the cloak, he looked down to see Padfoot sitting by his feet with his head cocked to one side. "We need to know what he's reserved..." He said quietly, mostly speaking to himself.

"I'll..." Hermione began but she felt a hand on her arm.

"No...you need to know how to deal with these people." Sirius' voice was soft and she jumped back when she realised how close he was. "Let me." He straightened himself out and quickly ran fingers through his hair, glancing at his reflection before striding into the shop. Quickly Hermione, Ron and Harry fed the Extendable Ears back beneath the door.

"Welcome, sir." Borgin said, eyeing Sirius warily. "What can I do for you?"

Sirius looked around the shop, he remembered visiting it with his parents back in his own time and the objects still made him sick to his stomach. He hitched a look of disdain on his face as he eyed Borgin. "Mr. Malfoy was in here not five seconds ago, I want to know what it is he reserved in here." Sirius demanded, Harry almost made a noise of shock at the way Sirius spoke to him. He stood tall, his eyes heavily lidded and so reminiscent of his cousin Harry could feel a twinge of fear.

"And you are...?"

Sirius sneered. "Why would I give my name to you? What are you...a Mudblood?" He let out a humourless bark of laughter. "Of course, look at that face, I'm sure I've seen it somewhere in the filthy streets...Now, answer my question...or else, do you wish to have people know how truly filthy your blood really is, Mr. Borgin?" Sirius' smile became positively evil and the man went white, seeming to forget he had ever asked Sirius for his name. He stepped backwards, eyes darting around nervously, Ron chuckled quietly by Harry's side but Hermione looked afraid. "Well?" Sirius demanded from within the shop.

"I-I...I beg your pardon, sir...b-but Malfoy he..."

Sirius watched the man's eyes intently; his own narrowed to two silver slits. "I see...well, I'm sorry to see that you don't want to tell me...however, I know everything already so I will leave you in peace. Just so you know..." He turned away, his fingers gliding over the shiny surface of the large cabinet. "I'd be careful if I were you, don't go messing with things that are too big for you." He grinned over his shoulder and walked out the door, leaving Borgin looking like a lost fish.

When they had got a good distance away Harry threw off the cloak. "What happened? Why didn't you question him?" He asked as Sirius paused and lit a cigarette.

"Because he wasn't going to tell me anything." Sirius replied with a shrug, but he was smiling as he gazed at Harry through his hair, eyes sparkling dangerously.

"But then..."

"Oh, he didn't _tell_ me anything exactly...but I know what your little friend wanted." His smile widened.

"H-how?" Hermione asked.

"It's all in the eyes, Miss Granger. When someone's afraid they will give away everything if you know what to look for...he kept looking at that large cabinet..." He frowned thoughtfully for a second. "I swear I've seen something like it before..." He muttered.

"That's actually...really clever..." Hermione muttered begrudgingly.

"I can be, when It's needed." Sirius grinned and took a slow drag on his cigarette before crushing it under foot. "Well, let's get going before you're missed." He transformed into a dog and ran off, back towards the Weasley's shop.

When they re-entered it was to find everyone searching for them, Harry slipped around back before removing the cloak and insisting they had all been in the back all along. Malfoy's odd behaviour nagged at Harry, and even his friends disinterest couldn't deter him from wandering what Malfoy wanted with an old cabinet. Sirius listened to his theory's, no matter how crazy sounding, he agreed that it was fishy and that it more than likely had something to do with the fact that his father was in prison, but they couldn't decide what the significance of it was.

One day, towards the end of the holidays Harry sat in Ron's room with Hermione, Ron and Sirius who was lying on Harry's camp bed with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. Ron was tending to his broom while Hermione was reading.

"But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that one safe'?" asked Harry for the umpteenth time. "That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."

"You reckon?" said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off his broom handle.

"Yeah, I do," said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?"

Ron looked up, blinking.

"Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?"

"That's my point, I don't know!" said Harry, frustrated. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and-"

Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.

"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"

"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" asked Ron nervously.

"He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!"

There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"

"It seems very unlikely, Harry," said Hermione in a repressive sort of voice. "What makes you think-?"

"In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."

Sirius opened an eye and watched Harry curiously. "I dunno, mate...as far as I know the Dark Lord doesn't recruit kids." But he was frowning thoughtfully, Harry felt a little uncomfortable underneath that intense scrutiny so he stared at his knees.

"Exactly, it just seems...implausible." Hermione said, nodding as if it settled the matter.

"But it makes sense!" Harry insisted, feeling slightly angry that they weren't understanding, that they simply couldn't see what he thought was so obvious. "He overreacts in Madam Malkin's, then he shows something to Borgin who seems afraid...don't you see it?"

"Harry..." Hermione began slowly, but Sirius cut her off by sitting upright, eyes alight with some kind of insane light.

"Greyback!" He said suddenly, his eyes meeting Harry's.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Greyback...you don't know him?" Sirius frowned, gazing at each of them in turn before sighing and shaking his head. "...Fenrir Greyback is notorious in my time, he's a Werewolf and strong...and he's psychotic! He likes to bite kids, get them while their young and he despises wizards. Thing is, he's joined up with the Dark Lord, and now he's fighting for him...no one knows why...I'm assuming he's still doing it in this time too as Malfoy Junior threatened Borgin with him...but, if the kid knows him, well...that just goes to further your claim, Harry." He shrugged and fell back. "If it's true though, I'd watch your backs. Greyback's mental...every kid's terrified of him..."

"It could have been a bluff you know..." Hermione said uncertainly.

"Hey..." Ron had paused in the cleaning of his broom. "I've just noticed something..." He frowned thoughtfully at Sirius. "I keep hearing you refer to He Who Must Not Be Named as 'Dark Lord'...like a Death Eater..."

Sirius chuckled. "Well, it's force of habit I guess. Also, it's a lot shorter than calling him 'He who must not be named'...remember what my family are." He closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I've heard it so often I suppose I just...picked it up. But in all honesty I don't have a problem calling him Lord Voldemort, if you'd prefer." He grinned as he heard Ron shudder. "I love that reaction, it amuses me."

Harry smiled. "Dumbledore insisted that the fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself."

"Too true, but that's not why I refer to him by his real name...people fear it, and it's fun to fuck with people."

"That's not very nice, Sirius." Hermione said with a small frown.

Sirius pouted. "Being nice is boring!" He complained loudly. "You sound like Moony! I reckon you're the same person...just opposite sexes. I swear if you'd been born in the same time frame he would have liked you...Intelligent but annoying and with _no_ sense of humour."

Ron snorted but got a kick in the leg from Hermione, Harry hid his smirk by gazing out the window and across the hills but his smile fell quickly when his mind drifted back to Malfoy.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: I must apologise to all my faithful and patient fans out there! I have been remiss in updating this story, however, hopefully I can continue to set a good pace for chapter updates from now on. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and interest in my story, you have made this humble author smile so many times. :) Keep enjoying and keep reviewing and letting me know you're still enjoying. Thank you._

_**Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn.**__** - **__**Delmore Schwartz**_

The train sat in the station, belching steam over the milling crowds of people. Harry smiled, glad to be returning to Hogwarts, beside him Sirius yawned and stretched. Mrs. Weasley and the others said their farewells and they boarded the train, finding a compartment together. Ron and Hermione said good bye and moved away to do their Prefects duties, leaving Sirius and Harry to get a compartment.

Sirius stared out the window, his hair falling elegantly into his eyes as Harry pushed Hedwig's cage onto the rack before flopping down at his side. The train began pulling out of the station, Sirius watched the smoke puff past his window and felt a slight pull in his stomach as the Hogwarts Express moved forward, slowly gaining momentum. "So..." Harry said slowly, for some reason feeling slightly uncomfortable, he seemed unable to look Sirius in the eyes.

"So?" Sirius turned to him, raising an aristocratic eyebrow. "'So' What, Mr. Potter?"

Harry glanced at him and looked away rapidly, trying to prevent the flush from creeping into his cheeks. He had no idea what was happening to him, he had been alone with Sirius many times before over the summer, so why was sitting at his side on the Hogwarts express so different? He cursed himself inwardly for acting like a prat. "Er..."

Sirius smirked slightly, but took pity on Harry and saved him from having to think of something to fill the silence. "You still reckon that Malfoy brat's a Death Eater?" He said, lounging elegantly in his seat as he turned to look directly at Harry.

Harry nodded. "Yeah...I just feel like...it's right...you know?" He frowned and met Sirius' sharp gaze.

"Trust your instincts Harry, only you can know if you're right or wrong."

"What do you reckon?"

Sirius smiled. "I agree with you. In my time, the Dark Lord wasn't recruiting children, but that doesn't mean he hasn't changed." A sudden frown marred his brow, his eyes darkened like clouds covering the silver moon. "He's a sadistic bastard...the amount of times I heard my Cousins talking about how he'd killed some persons family all because they slipped up or refused to work for him...I don't see why he wouldn't take on Malfoy Junior just to punish Cissy and Lucy."

Harry chuckled wryly at Sirius' pet name for Lucius, but his expression changed rapidly. "You mean you reckon he wants Malfoy to die?"

Sirius shrugged. "Probably."

"But that's...awful..." Harry gazed out the window thoughtfully, until Sirius' sharp bark of laughter brought him back.

"Harry...this is Voldemort we're talking about here." Sirius gave him a small, pitying smile. "He murders anyone who defies him and calls himself merciful...he takes people's lives, their courage, their very souls and twists them until there's nothing left but a mindless soldier. Voldemort is evil incarnate...you should know this better than anyone, he tried to murder you when you were a baby!"

"I know...it's just..." Harry shook his head slowly. "Malfoy's always boasted about how pure his blood is, how much Voldemort trusts his father and all that...I suppose I've just never considered how Lucius' imprisonment would affect him..."

Sirius sneered disdainfully. "Malfoy blood isn't as pure as they'd have you believe Harry." He said. "They have had people marry Muggle-born's...they just hide it well. Trust me, the purest line in existence is mine, and even that's fraught with doubt. Anyone who claims pure blood is probably either lying or deluded. Also, all Malfoy's are liars."

"I forget sometimes that you were brought up with all this..."

Sirius' eyes darkened dangerously. "Glad someone can." He muttered, pushing hair from his eyes and drawing his knee tighter to his chest.

"Sorry...I didn't mean..."

"It's not a problem, Prongslet..." Sirius said with a small sigh. "Honestly, I know you don't mean to make me angry." He smiled, a small sweet smile that made Harry blush furiously and look away.

The train continued on its way through the countryside, Sirius and Harry sat talking softly to each other and laughing, their heads close together when the compartment door opened they both looked up to see a boy stood there gazing at Harry with huge, curious eyes. "Can we help you?" Sirius said, startling the boy so he dropped a small scroll of parchment on the floor. Sirius bent and picked it up, it had a violet ribbon around it. Harry watched him handle it gingerly as if it was going to bite him. "This is for you..." He muttered, dropping it into Harry's palm. "You can go, kid." He said with a casual wave of his hand and the boy swallowed nervously before slamming the compartment door shut and scuttling away.

Harry read the parchment, his nose wrinkling in confusion. "An invitation to eat with Horace Slughorn...who is he?"

"Sluggy's a professor..." Sirius replied. "I'm going to assume he retired or something at some point if you don't know who he is..." He frowned in distaste. "He's a fat old Walrus-man who likes to collect the potentially rich and famous, or in your case, the already rich and famous. He's the Potions Professor in my time, tried to get me to join his Slug-Club but I refused."

Harry smiled. "Slug-Club?"

"Yeah, he has a club of talented students who he can put in contact with powerful people, in my time most of the Ministry are made up of Sluggy's favourites. In fact, now that I think about it, Lily Evans's one too." He pulled a face. "So is my brother..."

"My mum? Really?" Harry's green eyes lit up.

"Yeah, she's more intelligent than even Moony, me or Prongs...Top of our classes, especially Potions and Charms."

"How come you're not in the Club?"

"Because I'm not interested in power..." Sirius looked away, out over the fields that sped past his window. "Power's dangerous...especially for someone like me."

"You'd be a great Auror."

Sirius laughed. "I wouldn't! I hate authority! I'd never do as I was told, I'd always get myself into stupid situations...I'm too reckless!" His laughter died and his face became suddenly serious, he gazed intently at Harry for a long while, until Harry felt uncomfortable. "They also would never give me a position of power within the Ministry...not after they found out what Bellatrix was. I'm a Black...everyone knows to fear a Black." He looked back out the window.

"I'm sorry I..."

"No, don't worry about it." Sirius smiled at him. "You go see what Sluggy wants, I'm sure you'd rather eat Pheasant than Pumpkin pasties..." He grinned and Harry grimaced as he stood.

"I'll see you in a bit then." He muttered and left the compartment, but not before he saw Sirius curl up, shove his hands into his hair and lower his head onto his knees. With a frown of concern he walked away, knowing that Sirius obviously didn't want him to witness that moment of weakness.

Sirius hardly heard the compartment door slam shut behind Harry as agony flashed through his skull, slicing his mind in half and forcing him to bite down hard on his lower lip to prevent a scream from escaping. He groaned softly, pressing his forehead to his knees and squeezing his eyes shut. He didn't want Harry to know about the headaches, he saw no reason to worry him. When he risked opening his eyes the world wavered, like he was looking at it through a heat haze he groaned again and closed his eyes, breathing slowly through the pain as it gradually began to fade. Finally he took a slow, shaky breath and tipped his head back against the seat and gazed up at the ceiling, he felt his hands shake and clenched them into fists until they steadied.

When he had calmed enough to uncurl himself he heard someone clear their throat and turned to see a blond boy with a pointed face stood by the door. "Well, well, if it isn't Mini-foy...what do you want?"

"What's wrong with you?" Malfoy asked, his pale eyes narrowed.

"Nothing that concerns nosy little shits...out with it, what do you want?"

"I just thought that we could, perhaps, come to some kind mutual agreement."

Sirius smiled slyly. "An agreement with a slimy snake? What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Because If not I'll tell the Dark Lord that you managed to come back from the dead with a real body...and much younger."

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "I'm listening." He said carefully, his hand had slid from his thigh and now rested lightly on the handle of his wand in his pocket, he knew he could probably outdraw Malfoy if it came to it, but he wasn't sure if he had inherited his father's talent or not so he dared not risk an outright attack.

Draco licked his lips, glancing nervously over his shoulder before sliding the compartment door shut and yanking down the blind. He moved closer to Sirius who remained sprawled casually in his seat, pitch black hair falling into his bright eyes which watched Draco's every move carefully. Malfoy lifted back the sleeve of his left arm and showed Sirius the Dark Mark branded there. There was silence as Sirius moved his eyes back to his face, Draco couldn't read his expression, he looked neither intimidated nor angry; his face was a pale mask. "Well?" he said nervously.

"Well what? You haven't offered me anything yet...what must I do to prevent you from telling the Dark Lord our little secret, hmm?"

"I want your help."

"In what?" Sirius brushed hair from those eyes and watched Draco squirm uncomfortably.

"I have a...Mission." he began softly. "A mission given to me by the Dark Lord himself."

"I'm sure you're very honoured." Sirius drawled lazily, managing to sound incredibly bored.

Draco frowned angrily. "How dare you..."

"I would hurry if I were you, Malfoy, in case someone comes back and discovers you speaking to me." He smirked.

"This mission I...I'm not supposed to tell anyone...but I can't do it alone..."

"Well then, you'd better hold your tongue before the Dark Lord cuts it off."

Draco flushed slightly but continued. "I need someone to help me k-..." He froze as he heard familiar voices coming down the corridor. He sneered furiously. "The Mudblood." He hissed.

"Ah, afraid of a little Mudblood girl, Malfoy? You're really nothing like your father are you?" Sirius smiled as he watched Draco glare furiously at him.

"Don't speak to me like that you filthy Bloodtraitor!"

"Aw, I'm so terribly hurt by your words! I must now go cry in the bathroom..." Sirius yawned as he spoke, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Draco opened his mouth to retort but the voices drew closer so he hissed air from between his teeth and fled. Sirius' smile fell and he frowned, cursing the untimely arrival of Hermione and Ron as the compartment door slid open again. He could have got more information on what Malfoy was planning, but he supposed it could wait. He hitched a smile onto his face as Hermione began asking him where Harry was.

When Harry returned he slumped back into his seat with a huff, he had a sour look on his face. "Everyone's bloody staring at me!" He muttered irritably.

Sirius chuckled. "Get used to it, mate. You're a hero, after all."

"I'd rather not be." Harry spotted a few girls walking past their compartment, they looked in and turned away giggling and muttering to themselves.

"The girls like it..." Sirius swept hair from his eyes, smiling slyly. "Maybe you'll finally lose your precious flower."

"Sirius!" Hermione had gone slightly pink and she stared with shocked eyes as Sirius giggled.

"Come on, you're all acting like two year olds! You're sixteen now, and should be aware of the birds and the bees."

Hermione shot him a glare before disappearing behind a book and pointedly ignoring Sirius' attempts to wind her up. After a while of soft talking the compartment door slid open again and revealed a small, round faced boy, clutching a toad in one hand and a small blond girl with the look of someone who had wandered in by accident. Harry grinned. "Hi Neville, Luna."

"Hello Harry, nice summer?" Neville sat down beside Hermione and Ron while Luna took a seat beside Harry.

Harry shrugged. "It was ok."

Luna turned, large protuberant eyes on Sirius and watched him for minute before speaking. "Who are you?" She asked dreamily. Neville looked at the new boy as well and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Sirius grinned, holding out his hand. "Sirius Black, nice to meet you." He said before Harry, Ron or Hermione could speak.

"I thought you were dead." Luna replied, shaking his hand before letting go and smiling. "It's good that you aren't."

"Er...thanks...?" Sirius raised an eyebrow and Harry shrugged.

"B-Black?" Neville muttered, staring at Sirius with side eyes. "I saw you fall through that veil thing!"

"I did." Sirius grinned maliciously, eyeing the plump boy with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"How are you...what...?" Neville looked confused and slightly scared. "Weren't you older?"

"I was."

Harry smiled slightly. "There was an accident and Sirius got transported to our time...Dumbledore wants to keep an eye on him so he's coming to school with us."

"Oh..." Neville nodded, but still looked a bit confused. "Ok...so...you're...a-a good guy then?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow at that. "Good, bad...there's not really such a thing is there? I'm both, if you must put distinctions on such things. Of course, I can be nice when I want to be but I'm also a nasty piece of work when someone thinks it's a good idea to piss me off. It's all relative, we're all human, capable of both good and bad things, we all hold light and dark within ourselves, it's our decisions that make us who we are." He ran fingers through his hair slowly, so it fell back into place in an ebony wave that shone so black it was almost blue. "Of course, if we're looking for distinctions I'd probably say that most students at Hogwarts would consider both myself and James bad, although, that's a very long way from Dark."

Neville glanced nervously at Harry, who shrugged. "He's alright, Neville."

"Oh, ok." He settled back and tried to prevent his toad from escaping.

Harry turned his head and saw a head of white-blond hair pass the window, he frowned slightly before standing up. Ron looked at him questioningly. "What are you up to?" He asked as Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak.

"That's James'!" Sirius exclaimed in wonderment. "He gave it to you?"

"Well...indirectly I suppose." Harry replied throwing it over himself. "I'll catch you guys later."

"Harry...wait..." Hermione felt the displacement of air as Harry walked past her, the door opened on its own and slid closed again.

"Don't bother following him." Sirius muttered with a yawn. "He'll be fine."

"But...what's he doing?" She looked concerned.

"Following that Malfoy git." Sirius shrugged. "He's a big boy." He stood and stretched before grabbing his borrowed trunk and yanking out his robes. "Better change, we're nearly there." He said.

But, as they all crowded onto Hogsmeade station platform they found no sign of Harry. Hermione continued to look worried. "He should be here..." She muttered.

"He will be, calm down." Ron replied. He looked around. "Where's Sirius?"

"Probably gone back for Harry..." Hermione said slowly, glancing behind her as the train idled and spewed steam into the air.

Sirius walked down the train, his wand gripped in one hand as he scanned empty compartments. He frowned slightly as he passed one with the blind drawn down across the window. Pausing he pushed open the door and gazed around, he could smell soap and shampoo. He glanced around, carefully searching the floor before his fingers closed around something soft. He yanked off the Invisibility cloak and gazed down at a Petrified Harry, with a small smirk he released him from the spell and helped him to his feet. "Thanks..." Harry muttered, he had blood staining his clothes, his nose was well and truly broken.

"Looks like blondie did a number on you, huh?" Sirius said as they began walking back up the train and pushed open the door. They climbed off back onto the platform together.

"Git." Harry hissed furiously.

Sirius giggled. "Here..." He lifted his wand. "Moony's always been the healer in our team, but I learnt a thing or two...Episkey."

Harry's nose felt very hot, and then very cold. He raised a hand and felt gingerly. It seemed to be mended. "Brilliant, thanks." He muttered miserably as he walked up towards the gates.

"So, learn anything?" Sirius said softly, he had a slight skip in his step.

"Not anything useful..." Harry sighed heavily. "If only I had definite proof that he's a Death Eater..."

When Sirius let out a bark of laughter Harry turned to him with an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

"He confessed to me." Sirius replied, his voice full of amusement.

"He-what?

"Yeah, he showed me the Dark Mark and asked me to help him with some stupid task the Dark Lord's got him doing...I mean, really, as if I'd do that! But, he didn't have time to tell me anything important about this task, so I can only hope he'll try again..."

"He tried to get you to help?" Harry frowned. "Why?"

Sirius shrugged. "Must have heard how amazingly talented I am from dear Cissy..." he snorted derisively. "He's probably desperate and has somehow deluded himself in thinking I'd help him because of stupid blood-ties..."

They continued onwards, Harry fell into a thoughtful silence as they walked. "You...don't think he'd actually tell Voldemort...about you, I mean?"

Sirius heard the tone of concern and shrugged. "And what if he does? What can he do about it? I'm going back to Hogwarts where old Dumbles can keep a close eye on me and then I'll be sent back to my own time at some point...so really, even if he did want me, there's no way he'd risk it."

"I...I suppose so." Harry said doubtfully.

The gates loomed towards them and as they drew nearer they realised they were padlocked. Harry raised his wand but felt Sirius push his arm down to his side. "It won't work." He said firmly, gazing up at the gates with a small frown.

"How do you know?"

Sirius cocked his head towards him. "You can't feel it?" When Harry continued to look confused he sighed and lifted his hand, he took Harry's and pressed his palm to the gate. "It's magical residue...you should be able to feel it..." He muttered softly.

"I can't..." Harry paused, Sirius was stood very close to him, his palm hot against the back of his own hand and he felt his fingers tighten and heated breath on his ear.

"Close your eyes." He whispered, enjoying the tiny shudder he got from Harry who did as he was told. "It's like a tingle, a shiver that runs across your skin...feel it?" He ran the fingers of his free hand gently down the back of Harry's neck, chuckling softly when Harry bit down on his lip.

"Y-Yeah..." Harry replied, feeling a blush on his cheeks and was glad for the shadows cloaking it. He felt a kind of distant tingle, racing across his skin, but he wasn't sure if that was the enchantments or the fact that Sirius' lips were very, very close to his neck. He opened his eyes and caught sight of a distant light bobbing towards them. "Someone's coming." He muttered and pulled himself away from Sirius who blew hair from his eyes, Harry avoided his gaze and frowned determinedly at the approaching figure.

"Well, well, well..." That cold voice made Harry feel fury lick his insides, he looked up at the dark figure stood on the opposite side of the gates. He leaned forward, greasy hair sliding over his face as the light hit his beetle black eyes. "Nice of you to turn up, Potter, although you have evidently decided that the wearing of school robes would detract from your appearance..." He paused, his eyes narrowing as they landed upon the other boy stood beside Harry.

"Snivelly!" Sirius muttered in a shocked voice, he took a step backwards in surprise, but his fingers tightened over his wand. "What the...?"

"Dumbledore mentioned that you had somehow returned, Black." Snape hissed softly. "But it seems to me that this could be a rather...ah..._interesting_ opportunity..." He smirked and Sirius sneered.

"Oh yeah? Just because you're all old, doesn't mean you've got any power over me, Snivellus. So keep your greasy beak out of my face!"

"I am here to see you both up to the castle, Potter." He lifted his wand, Sirius responding without conscious thought, so his own wand was pointed directly into Snape's face. "I wouldn't dare, if I were you, Black." Snape replied softly, tapping his wand against the gates so the chains slipped loose and they opened.

"Oh wouldn't I?" Sirius replied, stepping through and raising an eyebrow as he looked up at the teacher. "You may be older than me now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to follow orders from the likes of you."

"You will do as you are told, _boy_." Snape replied coolly as he turned and began striding up towards the castle. "Yes, I think this year will be most interesting."

Sirius and Harry both glared at Snape's back as they followed him up towards the brightly lit school.


	7. Chapter 7

_AN: Another chapter! :O I wanted to make up for not posting for such a long time, so call this a 'I'm so sorry' gift! Now, let me just say I absolutely adore Snape even in all his bat-like greasy glory! Lol. He's such a deep, complicated character that I just HAD to put in his lesson with Harry! Forgive me for using mostly canon in these bits, but I have added my own stuff as well! I promise you, it's going mostly in its own direction, so it won't stay canon forever, but like I said, I really like Snape and his DADA lesson is funny._

_**Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.**__**  
**__**- Thomas Hardy**_

They made it to the school in tense silence after Snape had removed points from Gryffindor house for Harry's late arrival, he was unable to remove points from Sirius as he was not from their time and was therefore, apparently, immune from such things. Harry was forced to walk into the Great Hall without his cloak and he did so rapidly, Sirius on his heels. He reached the Gryffindor table and slid between Hermione and Ron, Sirius sat on their other side, ignoring the odd looks and mutters that surrounded them. Ron and Hermione tried to question Harry and Sirius on where they had been and why Harry was covered in blood, but he silenced them with a look.

Finally, after the pudding had been eaten, Dumbledore stood and smiled around at the now silent students. "Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

The silence seemed to tauten and strain as Dumbledore spoke. Harry glanced at Malfoy. Malfoy was not looking at Dumbledore, but making his fork hover in midair with his wand, as though he found the Headmaster's words unworthy of his attention.

"I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them-in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed after hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety." Dumbledore's blue eyes swept over the students before he smiled once more. "But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

As the students stood, Harry, Sirius and Ron lagged behind and followed slowly. "So," Ron began slowly. "What happened?" Harry explained how he had followed Malfoy into the Slytherin compartment and overheard his conversation, then told Ron that Malfoy had Petrified him and broken his nose. "Yeah, I saw Malfoy miming something to do with a nose earlier." Ron muttered darkly as they followed the press of students trying to get into the Entrance Hall. "But I still don't reckon that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would take on Malfoy...he was probably just boasting to show off for Parkinson."

"How d'you know Voldemort doesn't need someone at Hogwarts? It wouldn't be the first -"

"I wish yeh'd stop sayin' tha name, Harry," said a reproachful voice behind them. Harry looked over his shoulder to see Hagrid shaking his head.

"Dumbledore uses that name," said Harry stubbornly.

"Yeah, well, tha's Dumbledore, innit?" said Hagrid mysteriously. "So how come yeh were late, Harry? I was worried."

"Got held up on the train," said Harry. "Why were you late?"

"I was with Grawp," said Hagrid happily. "Los' track o' the time. He's got a new home up in the mountains now, Dumbledore fixed it-nice big cave. He's much happier than he was in the forest. We were havin' a good chat."

"Really?" said Harry, taking care not to catch Ron's eye; the last time he had met Hagrid's half-brother, a vicious giant with a talent for ripping up trees by the roots, his vocabulary had comprised five words, two of which he was unable to pronounce properly.

"Oh yeah, he's really come on," said Hagrid proudly. "Yeh'll be amazed. I'm thinkin' o' trainin' him up as me assistant."

Ron snorted loudly, but managed to pass it off as a violent sneeze. They were now standing beside the oak front doors.

"Anyway, I'll see yeh tomorrow, firs' lesson's straight after lunch. Come early an' yeh can say hello ter Buck - I mean, Witherwings!" Raising an arm in cheery farewell, he headed out of the doors into the darkness.

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Harry could tell that Ron was experiencing the same sinking feeling as himself. "You're not taking Care of Magical Creatures, are you?"

Ron shook his head. "And you're not either, are you?"

Harry shook his head too.

"And Hermione," said Ron, "she's not, is she?"

Harry shook his head again. Exactly what Hagrid would say when he realized his three favourite students had given up his subject, he did not like to think. Sirius sneered slightly. "Care of Magical Creatures is a farce...Who wants to learn that rubbish anyway?"

Ron shrugged. "We thought it'd be a bit of a doss to be honest, mate."

"I suppose...but wouldn't you be better off learning something constructive? Like I dunno...Ancient Runes?" Sirius continued as they walked up the stairs.

"Sounds too much like hard work." Ron replied stiffly.

"Not really...it's just translations..." Sirius walked with them, ignoring the curious stares he was getting from both girls and boys alike, he was getting nearly as many looks as Harry was. "Hey, who's Grawp?" He asked suddenly, turning his piercing gaze to Harry.

"Hagrid's giant Half-brother." He replied.

Sirius froze. Ron walked into him and muttered a curse. "You what?" Sirius said slowly, his eyes widening.

"Yeah, he picked him up in the mountains last year...what's wrong?"

"There's...a _giant_ on school grounds? And Dumbledore's allowing it?"

"Yeah, Grawp's alright I suppose...why?" Harry frowned as Sirius began moving again, he was frowning darkly.

"The Giants are brutal...They'd kill a Wizard as soon as look at them. It's ridiculously stupid having one so close to Hogwarts! Has Dumbledore gone senile? Trust me, Harry, there's nothing 'alright' about Giants..."

"Grawp's not violent though, he saved Hermione and me last year..." Harry insisted. "They're not all bad..."

Sirius glared darkly at him. "In my time the Giants are rampaging, murdering Muggle and Wizard indiscriminately, all working under Voldemort..." He ignored Ron's hiss of fear. "They murdered several of my friend's family members, ripping them apart like they were nothing! If one's nearby it could so easily crush the wall and kill hundreds..."

"I don't reckon Grawps that dangerous." Harry insisted as they stopped outside the Portrait of the Fat Lady.

"We'll see." Sirius said replied darkly as Ron gave the password and they crawled through into the common room.

When they reached the dormitory's the rest of the boys were already there and they were staring in confusion at the extra bed that had been placed by the door. When Harry entered with Ron and Sirius they all looked up, Dean Thomas smiled and Seamus looked about ready to burst with curiosity. Neville was unpacking his trunk slowly. "Who's this?" Seamus asked, his eyes on Sirius who was looking around with mild curiosity.

"My name is Sirius Black, and you are?" Sirius smiled and held out his hand, Seamus gazed at him as if he was insane.

"Sirius Black's dead, all the papers say so. And you're too young to be him." He said with a small frown.

Sirius dropped his hand. "Why would I lie?"

That stumped him. Neville spoke up from beside his trunk. "He had an accident and was sent forward in time and now he's here because Dumbledore wants to keep an eye on him."

"Don't be stupid! No one can travel _forward_ in time!" Seamus said.

"Oh, and how do you know this?" Sirius replied coldly. "I am Sirius Black, whether you believe me or not, it hardly matters anyway." He moved to the extra bed and sat down on it.

Dean continued to put up his latest muggle poster of West Ham football team, Sirius watched him curiously. "The pictures don't move...are you a muggle-born?" He asked startling Dean.

"Not entirely sure...my dad left my mum when I was born, got no proof he was a Wizard." he replied slowly. "Why?"

"Just curious."

Silence fell as everyone began to get changed into their pyjama's Harry had changed into his own and climbed into his bed when he watched Sirius remove his robes, he had his back to Harry as he bent over his trunk and removed some new pyjama's he had brought from Diagon Alley. He gasped softly, eyes widening in horror. "Sirius! What happened to your back?" He exclaimed.

Sirius paused and turned around, hiding the horrible scars that scattered his back in a network of pale criss-crosses. His eyes were dark, the candle light flickering off his face and making his eyes look shadowed and haunted. "It's best you don't know, Prongslet...trust me." He said in a tight voice before slipping on his pyjama top.

"But..."

"No, Harry...I don't want to talk about it, alright?" He turned around and gave Harry a sad smile.

"Y-yeah...alright." Harry removed his glasses and put them on the side table before closing the curtains around his bed and lying still. He gazed up at the canopy of his bed with a small frown. The marks on Sirius' back had looked like whip marks, he wandered if his parents had created them or if he had got them from something else...

He woke suddenly. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but something seemed to tug at his attention. Slowly, Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes and groping blindly on his side table for his glasses. When his hand closed around them he heard something moving around, quickly he pushed open his curtains to see a dark figure moving about the room, his feet padding softly on the stone floor. "Sirius?" Harry whispered, watching the figure pause.

"Harry? I'm alright, go back to sleep." Sirius replied just as softly.

Harry climbed out of bed. "What's wrong? Can't you sleep?" He moved closer and saw Sirius was wearing a cloak over his pyjamas.

"Yeah, sorry for waking you."

"No problem...where are you going?"

Sirius shrugged. "A walk...Want to come? I want to see how much Hogwarts has changed." His smile was bright, even in the dimness of the quiet dorm. Harry consented and took out his Invisibility cloak, it covered them both easily enough if they crouched slightly beneath it.

They walked quite a way after managing to sneak past the Fat Lady. Sirius said nothing as he guided Harry through passages and secret doorways as if he hardly had to even think about it. Finally they found themselves outside the Trophy Room on the third floor. "Why are we here?" Harry asked in a confused whisper, Sirius shook his head and slipped from beneath the cloak. Harry followed him as he walked towards a plaque in one of the crystal glass cabinets, Sirius paused and gazed at it. Harry knew it contained the names of previous Head Boys and Head Girls and he realised why Sirius had wanted to see it, after discovering that James had eventually become Head Boy he had wanted to see it for himself.

Sirius stared at the name and the date at its side, he felt a pang of grief and he pressed his hand against the glass protecting the plaque from grubby fingers. "James...You git." He laughed bitterly. "We made a pact that we'd never get any position like that...and you go and break it." He sighed heavily, wandering, not for the first time, if he was missed at all...he wanted to be able to see him again, at least one last time. He wished he could at least pretend to feel happy about the thought that James had found his happiness, he wished he could let him go...

Harry watched Sirius' face, his eyes were dark and shadowed and his fingers lingered on the cold glass covering as he gazed at the names, at the proof that James Potter had never, and never would, have any feelings other than friendship for him. Harry turned away slightly, a frown on his face as he heard Sirius shift and stand up. "Did you ever...you-know, with my father?" He asked softly, his voice rough as it left his throat, he shot a glance at Sirius who was gazing at him through his fringe.

"And what would you say if I told you I had?" He asked.

"I-I..." Harry frowned even further, confused by the ache in his chest as he stumbled over his words. "I don't...I don't know." He finally tore his eyes away from his very own award for services to the school and green eyes met silver. "I guess I'd tell you that you were a bit stupid...that my dad was probably using you."

Sirius' smile was one he knew, a twisted, bitter thing that made him look like his older self. "I knew he was...I wasn't stupid enough to believe he had feelings for me, Prongslet...I just..." He sighed heavily and lowered his head. "I just held this stupid hope that there was a small chance he'd give up on Evans..."

"You're an idiot." Harry said slowly, taking a cautious step towards Sirius.

"You reckon?" Sirius chuckled and lifted his head, he was surprised to see how close Harry was as he found himself confronted by confused and curious green eyes. The silence stretched on until Harry felt like if he didn't do something he would explode from the pressure, it built up in his chest and, before his brain could catch up with his body he moved forwards, his face inches from the other boys. Sirius' eyes widened as Harry leaned in and pressed his lips against his own, they stood there, frozen like that before Harry felt Sirius smile and a strong hand slide up his back and pull him closer.

Harry let his eyes fall closed, he felt Sirius part his lips slightly and they shared a soft breath before they deepened the kiss. Their tongues met cautiously, slowly exploring each other. Harry, before he lost confidence, pushed his tongue fully into Sirius' mouth making him mutter a surprised gasp as he fell backwards into a glass case, which, to their horror smashed with an extremely loud crash. They pulled apart, Harry panting slightly harder than was entirely necessary and Sirius gazing down at the scattered trophies and awards with a raised eyebrow. As one they looked at each other, Sirius was grinning, "Filch!" They said together and Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them and they ran from the room, just in time to hear wheezing curses and mutters about students out of bed.

That morning at breakfast, when Ron asked them why Harry was looking so exhausted, their eyes met and Harry shrugged and, to avoid making an excuse, he began eating rapidly. Hermione, however, caught Sirius' smirk of satisfaction, she frowned but said nothing as they finished breakfast and McGonagall began walking down the table, handing out time-tables.

The distribution of class schedules was more complicated than usual this year, for Professor McGonagall needed first to confirm that everybody had achieved the necessary O.W.L. grades to continue with their chosen N.E.W.T.s.

Hermione was immediately cleared to continue with Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, and Potions, and shot off to a first period Ancient Runes class without further ado. Neville took a little longer to sort out, but after McGonagall had told him he would be better off studying Charms he ran off with his lesson plan clutched in his hand.

"So, Potter, Potter..." said Professor McGonagall, consulting her notes as she turned to Harry. "Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Transfiguration ... all fine. I must say, I was pleased with your Transfiguration mark, Potter, very pleased. Now, why haven't you applied to continue with Potions? I thought it was your ambition to become an Auror?"

"It was, but you told me I had to get an 'Outstanding' in my O.W.L., Professor."

"And so you did when Professor Snape was teaching the subject. Professor Slughorn, however, is perfectly happy to accept N.E.W.T. students with 'Exceeds Expectations' at O.W.L. Do you wish to proceed with Potions?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but I didn't buy the books or any ingredients or anything-"

"I'm sure Professor Slughorn will be able to lend you some," said Professor McGonagall. "Very well, Potter, here is your schedule. Oh, by the way-twenty hopefuls have already put down their names for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I shall pass the list to you in due course and you can fix up trials at your leisure."

A few minutes later, Ron was cleared to do the same subjects as Harry, Sirius was about to stand when McGonagall stopped him. "Mr. Black, the Headmaster wishes you to continue study as if these...strange circumstances...had not happened." She was looking at him with a strange nostalgic glint in her eyes, which became more prominent when Sirius grinned.

"Ok." Sirius said as McGonagall took out a blank piece of parchment.

"What were you studying again? Transfiguration, I remember...and Charms..."

Sirius nodded. "Ancient Runes and Potions, Defence and Astronomy."

"A strange group of lessons but, here we are." She handed him his time table and he took it. "And Mr. Black, if you are planning anymore...pranks...in this time I will be forced to put you in detention...yet again." Before she walked away she smiled slightly and Sirius chuckled.

"You chose some odd lessons...what do you want to be when you leave Hogwarts?" Ron asked Sirius as they made their way towards the Marble Staircase, he gazed at Sirius' timetable before handing it back.

"I didn't want to be anything." Sirius shrugged. "I'm rich, remember?"

"Oh...yeah..." Ron sighed slightly. "Wish I had a rich Uncle." He muttered miserably.

"Having rich family members is the curse of being a Black." Sirius smirked slightly. "Unfortunately when you realise that the only way to get a hold of that money is to have someone die on you, it takes the joy out of it somewhat."

"Sorry I..."

"Don't worry about it, Alphard was a great guy...if a bit mad...but he's gone, pointless crying over him every time he's mentioned. Anyway, catch up with you guys later...have fun with your free period...i'd make the most of it if I were you, because it's not going to last." He smirked and ran off up the stairs to the Ancient Runes classroom.

For their free period, Harry and Ron lazed about in the sun drenched common room with a few seventh years. Once their time was up they made their way back down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom where they found Hermione and Sirius talking softly to each other in the corridor. Hermione had an armful of heavy books and a similar pile resided by Sirius' feet. When Ron and Harry approached Sirius smiled lazily, sweeping hair from his eyes. "Hi, hope you took full advantage of your only actual free period."

"Is it true then? Their not going to let up on the homework?" Ron asked nervously.

"You're NEWT students now, Mr. Weasley...time to put your back into it." Sirius laughed, gaining the attention of a few first and second years who were walking past.

"You seem confident you will pass your NEWTS, Sirius." Hermione said sternly.

"Of course I am, Miss Granger, I'm a genius." He grinned at her. "Siriusly though, sixth year is hard work...but, I can help you if you want."

Harry laughed at Sirius' pun but Hermione looked miffed. "I don't need help." She said as the door to the classroom opened to reveal Severus Snape, his sallow face framed as ever by two curtains of greasy black hair. Silence fell over the queue immediately.

"Inside," he said, sending Sirius a particularly hard glare as he strode confidently past, totally ignoring Snape.

Harry looked around as they entered. Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already; it was gloomier than usual, as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and was lit by candlelight. New pictures adorned the walls, many of them showing people who appeared to be in pain, sporting grisly injuries or strangely contorted body parts. Nobody spoke as they settled down, looking around at the shadowy, gruesome pictures. Sirius' eyes moved around the picture and his eyes hardened as he returned his gaze to Snape.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," said Snape, closing the door and moving to face the class from behind his desk; Hermione hastily dropped her copy of Confronting the Faceless back into her bag and stowed it under her chair. "I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention." His black eyes roved over their upturned faces, lingering for a fraction of a second longer on Harry's than anyone else's. "You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe."

_You believe... like you haven't watched them all come and go, hoping you'd be next_, thought Harry scathingly. He glanced over to his side to see Sirius lounging in his chair, his expression one of haughty boredom, he had to look away to stop himself from laughing.

"Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be more advanced." Snape set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a lower voice; the class craned their necks to keep him in view. "The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."

Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice?

Sirius put his hand in the air, forcing Snape to pause, everyone began looking at this strange new boy, including Malfoy. After a moment of soft mutters, Snape glared. "What?" He snapped.

"I was wandering if there was really any need to describe the Dark Arts like that?" Sirius asked in a tone of false innocence.

"You will address me properly, Black or I'll put you in detention." Snape hissed, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Of course, _Professor._ What I meant, _Sir_, was why Dumbledore would ask a man who is well known to have...er..._dabbled_...in the Dark Arts to teach defence? It strikes me as a little suspect, if not outright dangerous." Sirius kept his face impassive as Snape was obviously seething.

"That, Black, is between the Headmaster and I, keep your nose out of where it does not belong or I will make sure you regret it. Now then, your defences," said Snape, a little louder to make himself heard over the mutters of astonishment, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures," he indicated a few of them as he swept past, "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse" (he waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony) "feel the Dementor's Kiss" (a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall) "or provoke the aggression of the Inferius" (a bloody mass upon ground).

"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" said Parvati Patil in a high pitched voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"

"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," said Snape, "which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now..." He set off again around the other side of the classroom toward his desk, and again, they watched him as he walked, his dark robes billowing behind him. "... you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells." Once again, Sirius put his hand in the air, Snape glared at him, his face blotchy with fury. "What is it now?" He snapped.

"Just wanted you to know that I'm no novice in Non-verbal spellwork." Sirius smirked. "But of course, you should already know that..._Professor._"

"I remember full well your capabilities Black, I do not need to be reminded." He turned his back on Sirius and continued. "What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

Both Hermione's and Sirius' hands shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, before saying curtly, "Very well-Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," said Hermione, "which gives you a split-second advantage."

"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six," said Snape dismissively (over in the corner, Malfoy sniggered).

"Sir, how else would you put it?" Sirius said from his place, he was now leaning his chair back on it's legs and watching Snape with eyes full of satisfaction as the man slowly became more infuriated.

"Why don't you answer, am I not the teacher here?"

"Very well..." Sirius slammed his chair back onto its legs and leaned forward. "During a duel, it is best to devise tactics involving, not only the speed of your spell-casting, but also surprise. The enemy will know exactly how to counter a spell if you speak aloud, therefore you must learn to act fast and silently...like a striking snake."

Snape merely sneered before continuing the lesson; Harry glanced at Sirius who looked pleased with himself as he doodled absently on a ragged piece of parchment, his hair falling across it as it spilled over his shoulder.

"Those who progress in using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some, " his gaze lingered maliciously upon Harry once more, "lack." Harry knew Snape was thinking of their disastrous Occlumency lessons of the previous year. He refused to drop his gaze, but glowered at Snape until Snape looked away. "You will now divide," Snape went on, "into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

Although Snape did not know it, Harry had taught at least half the class (everyone who had been a member of the D.A.) how to perform a Shield Charm the previous year. None of them had ever cast the charm without speaking, however. A reasonable amount of cheating ensued; many people were merely whispering the incantation instead of saying it aloud. Typically, ten minutes into the lesson Hermione managed to repel Neville's muttered Jelly-Legs Jinx without uttering a single word, a feat that would surely have earned her twenty points for Gryffindor from any reasonable teacher, thought Harry bitterly, but which Snape ignored. Harry stood but before he could pair himself up with Ron Sirius tapped him on the shoulder, he was smiling and his eyes glittering. "Partner with me." He said and drew Harry gently away from Ron who looked slightly disappointed. "Remember, _concentrate_!" Sirius said as he moved away and waited for Harry to try and attack him.

Harry concentrated hard on what the Jinx, his eyes narrowed as he aimed his wand at Sirius who was stood, ready to deflect. He thought the spell in his head, trying desperately not to give into the temptation to speak it aloud. The whispers of the others were very distracting, and Sirius' small smile was even worse as it made him want to laugh.

"Come on, Potter! What's wrong?" Sirius taunted softly.

"Shut up!" Harry retorted, half smiling. "I can't bloody concentrate."

Sirius laughed. "Want to swap places? My arms aching."

"Fine." Harry watched Sirius' eyes narrowed and a split second later he was blasted backwards and hit a table with a small gasp.

"Shit! Sorry..." Sirius ran to his side and helped him to his feet. "I thought you'd block it." He looked guiltily down at Harry who chuckled. "I'll tell you a little tip, try and focus only on your opponent. Remember that you're trying to hurt them or prevent yourself from being hurt, try and imagine a real duel...there's only you and the enemy, got it?"

"Y-yeah..." Harry rubbed his backside where it had hit the table with a wince. "Let's try again."


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: *Fanfare* And we continue with the story! Yay! I adore Sirius so much, he's my fave character by far! Enjoy this chapter and I thank you from the very bottom of my heart for your kind reviews! I will heat things up soon so don't worry. :) Keep reviewing because I love hearing your thoughts!_

_**Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. **__**– **__**Buddha**_

Sirius and Harry continued practising until Snape walked over to them. "Pathetic, Potter," said Snape, after a while. "Here...let me show you..."

He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively; all thought of non-verbal spells forgotten, he yelled, "Protego!" His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several people gasped, including Hermione. Behind Snape, however, Ron, Dean, and Seamus grinned appreciatively. Sirius chuckled loudly, earning a glare from Snape.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter... not even the Chosen One."

"That was brilliant, Harry!" chortled Ron, once they were safely on their way to break a short while later.

"You really shouldn't have said it," said Hermione, frowning at Ron. "What made you?"

"He tried to jinx me, in case you didn't notice!" fumed Harry. "I had enough of that during those Occlumency lessons! Why doesn't he use another guinea pig for a change? What's Dumbledore playing at, anyway, letting him teach Defense? Did you hear him talking about the Dark Arts? He loves them! All that unfixed, indestructible stuff-"

"Well," said Hermione, "I thought he sounded a bit like you."

"Like me?"

"Yes, when you were telling us what it's like to face Voldemort. You said it wasn't just memorizing a bunch of spells, you said it was just you and your brains and your guts...well, wasn't that what Snape was saying? That it really comes down to being brave and quick-thinking?"

Harry was so disarmed that she had thought his words as well worth memorizing as The Standard Book of Spells that he did not argue. Sirius, however, shot Hermione a side long glance. "You do know that Snivelly has been up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts since he was eleven, don't you? I've been on the receiving end of his spells...The Dark Arts are seductive, once you start playing with them you get sucked deeper and deeper until, before you know it, there's no way back. Trust me, Hermione, Snape wasn't faking that tone."

"But Dumbledore trusts him, I-..."

"Harry! Hey, Harry!"

A voice cut Hermione off mid sentence, Harry looked around; Jack Sloper, one of the Beaters on last year's Gryffindor Quidditch team, was hurrying toward him holding a roll of parchment.

"For you," panted Sloper. "Listen, I heard you're the new Captain. When're you holding trials?"

"I'm not sure yet," said Harry, thinking privately that Sloper would be very lucky to get back on the team. "I'll let you know."

"Oh, right. I was hoping it'd be this weekend-"

But Harry was not listening; he had just recognized the thin, slanting writing on the parchment. Leaving Sloper in mid-sentence, he hurried away with Ron, Hermione and Sirius, unrolling the parchment as he went.

_Dear Harry,__  
__I would like to start our private lessons this Saturday. Kindly come along to my office at eight p.m. I hope you are enjoying your first day back at school.__  
__Yours sincerely,__  
__Albus Dumbledore__  
__P.S. I enjoy Acid Pops._  
"He enjoys Acid Pops?" said Ron, who had read the message over Harry's shoulder and was looking perplexed.

"It's the password to get past the gargoyle outside his study," said Harry in a low voice. "Ha! Snape's not going to be pleased... I won't be able to do his detention!"

Break was spent trying to discover what Dumbledore had in store for Harry, Hermione was certain that he would be taught advanced Jinxes and Hexes while Ron decided Dumbledore would be teaching him spells the Death Eaters wouldn't know, his theory was soon put down by Hermione who insisted that was illegal. Harry turned to Sirius, who was being unusually quiet. "What do you reckon?" Harry had long ago confessed everything to Sirius, Hermione hadn't liked that he had told him, but Harry had felt the need to...he couldn't keep such a huge secret from the boy who had once been both Godfather and friend and was now somehow more.

Sirius considered carefully for a while. "I think, knowing Dumbledore, that he will probably be giving you vital information..." He said slowly. "He's the kind of bloke who would prize information over attack and even defence...He's probably going to arm you with knowledge..."

"Seems about right." Ron said. "Always reckoned he was mental...brilliant and all, but still mental."

"Knowledge is power." Sirius muttered softly, seeming to speak to himself as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Strength, magical or physical, can't be much help unless you have the knowledge to use it properly...in any duel you have to think, even if you only have a split second to do it in."

"You talk as if you've been in a duel? Like...a real one." Ron gazed at Sirius who shrugged, pushing hair from his eyes.

"Of course I have...several times. My father trained me, as Heir to the Black name and fortunes it was my _duty._.." He spat the word, his face twisting as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "To learn to duel, in case I ever had to defend the honour of my house."

When break time was over Hermione went off to her Arithmancy class while Sirius, Ron and Harry returned to the common room during their free period. They worked on Snape's extremely difficult essay. Harry sat in a chair by the fireplace, he was frowning irritably down at his essay until movement caught his eye, he looked up and saw Sirius lying on his front with quill in hand. He was writing rapidly, his eyes narrowed slightly as his feet swayed in the air and he poked his tongue through his teeth with concentration. Harry tipped his head to the side slightly, fascinated by the way the light shone on Sirius' hair which was falling across one shoulder to spread across the parchment, Sirius spent a moment re-reading what he had written and tapping his quill against his lower lip then he seemed to become aware that someone was watching him. He lifted his head and his eyes met Harry's who felt a sudden, almost violent shiver down his spine before he lowered his head back to his own homework.

Sirius smiled slowly watching that adorable blush spread across Harry's face before he stood and moved closer. "You having trouble?" He asked softly, crouching by his side and gazing up at Harry through his fringe.

"Er...yeah...it's difficult..." Harry muttered, unable to look into Sirius' piercing gaze.

"Need help?"

"Y-yeah I guess...thanks..."

Sirius flashed him a white smile before dragging Harry's parchment towards himself and screwing up his face. "You're handwriting's bloody awful!" He exclaimed.

"If you're just going to insult my handwriting I'll have that back..." Harry replied irritably, as he reached for it, Sirius pulled it away, smirking mischievously. Harry's eyes widened and before he knew it he was falling out of his chair and falling on top of the other boy. Sirius was laughing softly.

"I was joking Prongslet...I would have given it back, but then again I kind of like this position..." He lay on his back, eyes like molten sickles and that tiny smirk playing across his lips. Harry felt the air rush from his lungs as he was suddenly confronted by memories of soft lips and hot breath. He flushed brightly as Sirius lifted his head until their lips just touched, before he could give in to the urge to kiss him they heard a cough. Harry went crimson and jumped off of Sirius, before he could turn his attention to the cougher he caught an odd look as it flashed across Sirius' handsome face...could it have been anger? But, before he could consider it, it was gone and he put it down to his imagination.

"We have potions now..." Hermione said, she was stood by the chair Harry had fallen out of and was eyeing him warily. "We shouldn't be late..."

"Even if we were, Old Sluggy wouldn't put us in detention for it..." Sirius said.

Hermione gave him a small frown, Harry raised an eyebrow curiously. Ron was busy packing his homework away and grumbling furiously to himself to notice the tense atmosphere, but Hermione simply sighed softly and turned away.

Potions went unexpectedly well, Harry and Sirius both shared a table and Sirius turned out to be a more than competent potion-maker. By the end of the lesson Slughorn was beaming at the pair of them, while Hermione looked a little upset that, for once, Harry had outshone her. Sirius seemed to simply shrug off the praise, Harry had always had the impression that Sirius was arrogant as a youth, but watching him he realised it wasn't arrogance, but more that he simply knew his strengths.

That evening Harry went to see Dumbledore for the first of his special lessons, leaving Hermione, Ron and Sirius beside the Common Room fire. They sat in silence for a while, until suddenly Sirius stood, Hermione looked enquiringly up at him. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"For a walk." Sirius replied in a light voice, but his voice was strained. "I'll be back to hear all about Harry's lesson." He gave the pair a lazy salute and made his way to the portrait hole.

Once out he walked the corridors, he felt odd, his head swam slightly and he stumbled into a wall with a soft grunt of pain...and then it was on him, his head split open and he went temporarily blind as he collapsed to his knees with a soft gasp. He had one hand on the rough stone wall, his fingers curled inwards into a fist as he closed his eyes and breathed heavily through the agony. He opened his eyes and found himself stood once again in the common room...yet it wasn't quite how it had been when he had left it mere minutes before. The sky outside was dark and he could hear the wind howling outside, the fire roared in the hearth and he could see three figures sitting beside it, he heard them speaking and his eyes fixed upon one. _James. _He tried to call out but it seemed they couldn't hear him. James was sitting, slumped in one of the squashy armchairs, glaring into the flames.

"We can't do anything, James...I'm sure he's fine." Peter muttered from his place on the floor.

James moved his furious stare to Peter. "And how do you know, Worm?" He snapped.

"James, it's not Peter's fault." Remus said softly. "Dumbledore knows what happened, he will bring him back."

"But I feel so useless!" James said, lowering his head. Sirius moved forward carefully, he realised he wasn't even disturbing the rubbish that scattered the floor. "Merlin, Remus...I miss him."

"We all do." Remus replied, looking at James sadly.

"It's my fault! All my fault...If I'd only read the damned instructions properly...It said that it would send them into the future...not make them see...how could I have been so stupid?" he shoved long fingers into his hair and bent over his knees. "What if he...what if he's gone forever, Moons?"

"He won't be." Remus assured him gently, he put his hand on James' shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sure he'll come back to us, he's Padfoot, remember? He can find his way back from anywhere."

_James! James...I'm here...I-I'm right here..._Sirius wanted to call out, to touch him, to pull him into a tight embrace...but when his fingers brushed James' hair he felt nothing.

"What would happen if he does end up stuck in the future?" Peter asked, gazing at his two friends with those watery eyes. Sirius suddenly wanted to hit him, to put his fist through those crooked teeth and hear him squeal as he broke his jaw, he growled silently in his throat, his teeth bared in a furious, dog-like snarl.

"That isn't something we're contemplating, Peter." Remus said, his tone as always calm and collected.

"But you should be..." Peter continued blithely, seemingly unaware of how tense James' shoulder's were. "I mean, anything can happen can't it? What if he's stuck in a future where the Dark Lord has won and he's been murdered? Or what if he's trapped somewhere and can't escape...? We might not get him back."

"Peter..." Remus said in warning, but James had straightened.

"No, Remus, he's right...Sirius could be in trouble...he could be dead...anything could have happened." He spoke slowly, his voice heavy with some emotion he wasn't showing on his thin face.

"See...?" Peter smiled a little but quailed when Remus shot him a glare.

James stood abruptly, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He turned on his friends. "Use the spell on me." He said firmly.

Remus' brown eyes widened. "No! That's idiocy, even coming from you!"

"Remus, if he is in danger, I can't just stand by...I-I can't stand not knowing! Please..."

Remus bit down on his lower lip. "I could send you anywhere...you could go too far or not far enough...there's too many what if's..."

"You know, for once I agree with Remus." Peter said quietly. "You could be killed."

James' hazel eyes narrowed and Sirius felt his heart skip a beat. "Shut up! He's our friend and I know for a fact that he would willingly walk through fire for any of us...if I don't do the same for him, how would I ever face him again?"

Peter's face darkened and he stared mulishly at the carpet. "You're only saying that because you're sleeping with him..." He muttered darkly.

James stiffened, his eyes going wide. "H-How...?"

"Oh come on James, do you think I'm that stupid? The way you two are around each other, it's not the same way you are around me or Remus...and sometimes you even forget to put up the silencing charms at night!"

"Peter...stop..." Remus began but fell silent at the look James gave him.

"So, you worked it out...well done. So what if I'm sleeping with him, Pete? What's it matter to you who I shag?"

"I-It..." Peter had gone red at James' unabashed confession. Sirius had never wanted to kiss James more than he did in that moment, but he was invisible, a wraith with no substance...yet he almost found himself thinking that if it meant he could stay at James' side he wouldn't mind being invisible...even if it meant never touching that hair, never looking into those eyes, never hearing that voice whisper his name in the darkness of early morning...he could live simply knowing James was near...simply protecting him from the shadows... "It doesn't...but I thought Lily..."

"I am in love with Lily Evans." James' declaration seemed to hang heavily in the air, a choking, cloying blanket that sank into Sirius' lungs and almost stopped his heart. "What Sirius and I have is nothing more than fucking around, we get bored and we do stuff...there's nothing else to it."

Peter frowned, plucking absently at a hole in the rug. "I still don't see why you have go chasing after him...He's annoying...he's horrible to me..."

Remus frowned slightly. "Sirius is horrible to everyone, peter. I wouldn't take it so personally."

"He's not horrible to you or James..."

"Well..." Remus seemed unable to come up with an answer to that.

"Sirius is my best friend! He's the brother I never had! You know this, Pete...why are you so against me going?"

"Because..." Peter looked up at James, blue eyes narrowed. "Because I don't like him." He said firmly.

"What?" James' eyes widened in incredulity. "But that's-..."

Sirius never did get to find out what it was, he felt an awful wrench in his head, he bent over with a silent cry of pain and when he next opened his eyes he was gazing up at the stone ceiling of the third floor corridor. After a second to get his bearings he let out a small sigh and covered his face with his hands, his whisper was soft but audible; "_James..."_

When Harry returned he found Hermione and Ron waiting for him by the fire, he looked around and saw no sign of Sirius. "Where's..." But before he could ask the portrait hole opened and he saw Sirus coming through it, he had his head down but when he lifted it a small smile curled his lips.

"Hey Prongslet, how'd it go?" He asked as he slumped down into a seat.

Harry explained about Bob Ogden's memory, he described it in great detail. "Then, when we got out the penseive, Dumbledore said; _'__Marvolo, his son, Morfin, and his daughter, Merope, were the last of the Gaunts, a very ancient Wizarding family noted for a vein of instability and violence that flourished through the generations due to their habit of marrying their own cousins. Lack of sense coupled with a great liking for grandeur meant that the family gold was squandered several generations before Marvolo was born. He, as you saw, was left in squalor and poverty, with a very nasty temper, a fantastic amount of arrogance and pride, and a couple of family heirlooms that he treasured just as much as his son, and rather more than his daughter.'_"

"Sounds familiar." Sirius' dark mutter made everyone jump, they had almost forgotten he was sat there, he was so low in his chair that the top of his head couldn't be seen over the back. "Gaunt..." He frowned into the fire. "I don't think I remember them...but Peverell rings a bell. I'm certain I've heard it before..." He chewed absently on a torn nail as he went back to the days when his mother would sit him before the giant tapestry in Grimmauld Place and force him to recount each family member, then he would have to tell her the names of each notable family. Suddenly he sat up, silver eyes glittering in the fire light. "Peverell! They were the first pureblood Wizarding family to become extinct in the male line, a medieval family...so there is a possibility that their bloodline survives but it would be through the female line so the name would have long ago died out." He paused. "I don't remember who they're related to though...I can't remember..." He shrugged slightly. "Apart from the Gaunts, obviously...and probably Slytherin too."

"But what would Dumbledore want with their ring?" Harry muttered, remembering the golden ring and the cracked black stone that had sat on one of the many tables in Dumbledore's office.

"No idea." Sirius said with a small shake of his head. Harry had noticed an odd change in him, he seemed withdrawn somewhat, his mood dour and dark even now there was something strange in the way he was watching Harry, the glint in his eyes was all at once hungry and sad...he ignored the shiver that ran down his spine and tried to concentrate on Hermione's voice as she began discussing Dumbledore's first lesson in Voldemort's history.


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Well, this is a long chapter! :) I am so enjoying this! I must warn though, this chapter is a sad one...forgive me for torturing Sirius, but I can't help myself! He's such an easy character to write angst for, even more so than Harry! :O I am a bad, terrible person I know...forgive me and read anyway, and leave me a review! Thank you all so, so much for all the interest in this story! I'm so happy I could cry! :D Your reviews, your faves and your alerts all make me smile!_

_**For my part, I consider that it will be found much better by all parties to leave the past to history, especially as I propose to write that history myself.**__** - **__**Winston Churchill**__**  
**_

"Harry, I think we need to talk." Hermione and Harry were sat in the Library, Sirius was nowhere to be seen and Ron had gone back to the common room with a headache. Hermione had that look about her that said she was broaching a serious topic, so Harry put down his quill and gave her his full attention. "I was wandering..." She began carefully, eyeing Harry as if he was sickening for something. "What's going on between you and Sirius?"

Harry had not expected that. He frowned. "Nothing...we're friends Hermione."

She chewed her lip nervously for a second before sighing. "It's just that the way you react around each other, there's...something more there. I'm worried, Harry."

"There's nothing happening, Hermione. We're friends, that's all. And any way, Sirius is alright."

"I don't know..." She sounded afraid as she spoke, unwilling to look Harry directly in the eye. "There's something...odd about him. I mean, the Sirius we knew was an adult, even if he was a bit childish at times, he had grown up and had more life experiences...This Sirius can't take on the role of Godfather...he's too young and...and I get the feeling he's not..."

Harry frowned at her. "Not what?"

"Not all he makes out to be." She said carefully. "Don't get me wrong, he's very nice and everything I just think...there's something a little dark about him...something dangerous..."

"He's not dangerous Hermione." Harry snapped and jumped to his feet. "He's just a little screwed up because he was sent into the future where everyone he did know is either dead or older, you'd be the same in his position!"

"Harry, please listen to me!" She sounded slightly desperate as she grabbed the sleeve of his robe and yanked him back into the seat. "Don't get close to him...eventually he's going to have to return to his proper time and when he does you'll have to be able to let him go! Please Harry, I'm saying this for your benefit!"

"Close? Hermione, he's the one person in this school who'll ever have any chance of understanding me! He's my father's best friend and my Godfather! How can I not get close to him? No one understand me like he does, he's intelligent, funny and powerful...he's a good friend to me. If I want to hang onto him, can anyone blame me?"

"Harry, I'm worried about you..." Hermione's voice was soft. "I just don't think his intentions towards you are that...innocent. He's not the man you knew, not yet at any rate...he's different...Please, I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't...he likes me." Harry began pulling his parchment and books into his bag. "I know he does."

"He liked your dad...and you're not your father."

"I know that and so does Sirius...we had this conversation last year."

"I know, and it still applies...I don't think he sees you as different people at all."

"He's not mad!" Harry snapped furiously.

"I'm not saying that." But Hermione's expression defied her words as she grabbed her own work and followed Harry from the Library.

"Look, just drop it, alright? I've had enough..." Harry strode from library, a dark frown on his face as he tried to out distance Hermione.

"I just want you to know that I'm worried! Just promise me you'll be careful around him?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, fine..." He said to shut her up, it seemed to satisfy her and they went back up to the common room together.

Sirius sat opposite Dumbledore as the Headmaster spoke softly, his voice was grave and his eyes sad. "We have been unable to find a way to return you to your own time, Sirius. I am sorry."

Sirius nodded, it wasn't as if he hadn't expected it, but hearing it said out loud made his chest tighten in fear. "Ok...so what does this mean?"

"We will continue to work on it, this I promise you. However, it seems the overall effects of your time leap have not been too serious as far as we can tell. The problem I am having now is keeping you under my watch, the Ministry have already tried to demand that you be sent to them to..._aid_ them in their research...but so far I have managed to divert them, how long I can keep doing so is another matter." He saw Sirius nod slowly. "How have things been with you?"

"I..." Sirius sighed softly. "The headaches are worse, sir...I collapsed not long ago and saw...I saw James and Remus and Peter...from my time. They were talking about me...But it was like being in someone else's memory, I was less than a ghost..."

"I see, and have you seen them since?"

"No, sir. Just that once." He winced as if he was in pain as he remembered James. "What will happen to me...if the ministry get hold of me?"

"They will run experiments I suspect..." Dumbledore replied, his eyes hardening for a split second.

"Not easy ones though, right?"

"Correct. I will do everything within my power to see that you remain safe here at Hogwarts, but if they decide to bring down the might of the Ministry there is very little I can do..."

"I understand sir...it was inevitable really." He sighed softly and smiled. "I suppose I'll just have to go with them peacefully when they come..."

"Let us hope it never comes to that."

Sirius nodded and stood. "Is that all?"

"Yes, for now. If your headaches continue, I want you to alert me and go see Madam Pomfrey, do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Thanks." He pulled open the door and left.

Sirius was so immersed in his own thoughts he didn't see the boy step out in front of him, he walked into him and stumbled backwards. "Shit, look where you're going, bastard!" He snapped and raised his head to find himself face to face with Malfoy, the boy looked ruffled, his eyes had circles around them and his hair was all out of place. "Oh...it's you. Out of my way, Snake." He muttered and tried to push past the blond, but Malfoy stood his ground. "Are you really doing this?" Sirius sighed, pushing hair from his eyes. "Come on, don't push me."

"I want to talk to you. Now." Malfoy muttered, grabbing Sirius by the arm and pulling him into a nearby room. It was full of rows upon rows of random stuff; books, furniture, statues, and many other objects. Sirius gazed around the cathedral-like space in awe.

"This is nice...where are we?"

"Seventh floor, the Room of Requirement." Malfoy answered as he turned to face Sirius.

"Wow...hang on..." Sirius frowned thoughtfully. "I swear I've hidden from filch in here...but it was tiny..."

"Yes, it changes depending on the user's needs...anyway, listen..."

Sirius moved over to a stack of ancient looking scrolls and began absently looking through them. Many crumbled beneath his fingers but some still had writing on, he found one scroll written in Latin and the ink was definitely not ink...it was dark red. He dropped it quickly, wiping his hands on his robes absently. "So, what have you been up to in here, Mr. Malfoy." He said, eyes still searching the room, he was fascinated.

"I can't say...but I do need help..." Malfoy looked uncertain. "You know what I am...you've had contact with Dark Wizards before and you must have been brought up the same way I was..."

"More than likely." Sirius replied vaguely as he lifted himself up onto a stable looking table and sat there, gazing down at Malfoy. "What's it to you?"

Malfoy frowned. "If I tell you, you will have to swear not to speak to anyone else about it...make an unbreakable vow..."

Sirius' laughter echoed around the ceiling. "Yeah, I don't think so." He said, smirking as he leaned forward. "Do you take me for a fool? I would never do something like that, I like living and I would never swear anything with a Malfoy."

"But we're related! My mother is your cousin!"

"That is meaningless. Blood is meaningless. I left my family and have no intention of returning to that, I'm done with it. This stupid obsession with Blood and purity! It's all lies! Lies to make people like you feel better about themselves and make you feel bigger than everyone else well, newsflash..." He jumped down from his perch and stepped close to Malfoy, his silver eyes glittering dangerously in his pale face as they narrowed with anger. "You're not better than anyone. You're a kid... a kid like me, a child! You think you're so damned good...but you're nothing but a pathetic wannabe!" he jabbed Malfoy in the chest with a finger, making him stumble backwards, his eyes wide with shock. "You follow your father's line 'Pureblood is power'...like a perfect little son, you walk the path set out for you by your gullible parents and their parents before them...you'll let them marry you off to some pureblood girl who you don't love and never will...you live your life as a Zombie with no thoughts of your own...going about each day pretending to be happy and acting like a puffed up peacock...but deep down you _know_! You know what he's asking you to do is wrong, you know that if you fail it'll mean your life...and worst yet, you know you've only got yourself and your stupid, fucking useless pride to blame for it all!"

Malfoy flushed vibrantly, he had been pushed backwards into a solid object his eyes wide as Sirius hissed at him. "You don't know...you cannot understand..."

"Not understand?" Sirius laughed incredulously. "I understand better than you would ever know! I suffered for my beliefs but never once did I waver! No matter how many times my father took that fucking belt to me, no matter how many times my mother tortured me...I never, ever gave up on what I know to be right! And you have the fucking cheek to look down on me, to call me bloodtraitor, to sneer and pretend you're better than me...I would _die_ rather than betray that! Do you understand? Let him kill me for being a Bloodtraitor, let cousin Bellatrix blast me into oblivion...I'll die with a fucking smile and a clear conscience. Will you be able to say the same thing?" he gazed at Malfoy, blond hair out of place, eyes wide with confusion and incomprehension and he sighed suddenly and stepped back. "You know what? You're just like him."

"Who?" Malfoy asked, straightening himself out. He wasn't used to having anyone talk to him like that and he was angry, but he had no idea what to say...he doubted very much that he could ever win in a duel with Sirius Black, who had been infamous, even within his own family, for his duelling skills.

"My brother..." Sirius turned away from him a moment, squinting at a shaft of sunlight that highlighted a huge, covered object. "He was weak too."

Malfoy managed to get back his courage. "You will regret speaking to me like that, Black!" He hissed, still flushed from his humiliation. "I will make sure the Dark Lord discovers your secret...and I will deliver you into his hands personally!"

Sirius smiled. "Good luck." He said and watched Malfoy storm out of the room. Once alone he sighed and looked around, the sunlight hit something shiny and he moved closer out of curiosity. He frowned and saw a sliver of silver covered by a heavy blanket, with a jerk of his wrist he yanked the covering off and found himself gazing up at a large Mirror.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi_

The words were written across the top in gently sloping script, he didn't recognise the language. Slowly he moved further around it until he should have been seeing his own reflection. What he saw made him fall to the floor in shock, his eyes glued to the image. There he stood, in the arms of a boy with messy black hair, and he was smiling in contentment. He gritted his teeth and hissed in a sharp breath as his chest constricted painfully, his reflection looked blissfully happy and it hurt. It was so painful he could hardly even breath, but the longer he watched the more he felt he needed to not look away. Even though he couldn't see the boys face properly he knew that there would only be love in those hazel eyes. He blinked as his vision blurred and let himself lean back against the cabinet at his back, he watched himself laughing and smiling with nothing but pure joy in his eyes as he ignored the heated tears running down his face, he ignored the painful hitch of his chest and simply sat there gazing at what he knew he would never, ever have...Sirius was born to be alone and he knew he was, but he couldn't understand why it hurt so damned much when he thought about it...

He knew what the mirror was showing him, he knew what his deepest desire was...it was the thing he had wanted from his parents and never received, it was the thing he had grown up without and had only come within touching distance of when James had held him for the first time...he wanted someone to _love_ him...he wanted someone to want him for what he was, not what he could do for them...he wanted someone he could love back and not have to sit in the cold, dark shadows while he watched the one he loved chase after another. He needed to be needed...

Harry entered the room of requirement which had been, oddly enough, left open. He entered and gazed around at piles upon piles of randomly assorted objects. He walked through the maze-like structures until he heard a sudden noise, it had sounded like a sob. He frowned and moved silently forward, following the sounds. In one hand he clutched his wand, in the other he held a piece of crumpled parchment. As he turned a corner he stopped as he saw a boy, long black hair covering his face. He was curled in on himself, knees pressed against his chest and his arms locked firmly around them but what made Harry's heart jolt in his chest was the realisation that Sirius Black was crying. He stood there in silence for a long while, simply trying to absorb the shock of it, Sirius was sat before a tall Mirror that Harry instantly recognised and it suddenly all clicked into place. He took a shuddery breath and stepped forward, at the noise Sirius looked up, his silvery eyes were glistening with tears that slid down his cheeks, quickly he stifled another sob that tried to escape and wiped them furiously on the sleeve of his robes.

"H-Harry..." He muttered in a cracked voice. "What's wrong? How did you find me?"

Harry walked over to him and sat at his side, his eyes slowly shifting to the mirror and he saw what he had at eleven years old. A whole array of people wearing smiles and eyes full of love, yet his eyes were once again drawn to those at the front, a woman with dark red hair and kind green eyes and a tall man with a thin face and messy black hair. Harry sighed softly. "What...what do you see?" He asked slowly, unable to tear his eyes away from his family.

Sirius gazed into the mirror again, half choking on his own breath. "Myself..." He whispered hoarsely. "Myself being...no...i-it doesn't matter..." He chuckled darkly, wiping his eyes again. "It's all lies isn't it? Everything I want...everything I've ever dreamed...all lies. It can't come true. It's impossible."

"No." Harry said, his eyes lingering on the image of his mother for a long time. "It's not impossible...what's impossible is what it shows me. Because the dead can't come back to life..."

Sirius tore his eyes away from his own desire and looked at Harry. "What do you see?"

"My mum and dad...smiling." He gave Sirius a small, half smile himself. "I found this when I was eleven, and Dumbledore said something that I should tell you now. This is the Mirror of Erised, a Mirror that shows anyone who looks into it only their deepest desire...When Dumbledore caught me looking he told me; _Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that._ Never thought I'd see it again..." He sighed softly. "So, what do you see?"

Sirius was gazing at the mirror, his eyes wide and slightly unfocussed. "My deepest desire, hmm? Harry...when you were living with the Muggles did you ever wander what it would be like to...to be loved?" His voice was softer than a whisper and Harry had to strain hard to hear it.

He considered a moment, eyes being drawn again and again to his parents smiling, adoring faces. "I did. I think...every kid wants parents that love them."

Sirius nodded slowly. "They loved Regulus..." He breathed, chest tightening painfully and for a moment he thought he was going to be sick. "They would dote on him, he was perfect in their eyes...but for me they reserved only curses, screams of 'Bloodtraitor' and 'filth'...for me it was being locked in my room until I apologised for being sorted into Gryffindor, it was being cursed because I spoke to a muggle in my street, it was pain and hatred...it's all I've ever known. I assumed, for a long time, that everyone was like that...I assumed that everyone hated each other...it was normal. That was until I went to Hogwarts and met your father on the train...James was...bright, like the sun. Like a massive star that shone with its own light...he was beautiful and I knew with a certainty that he'd be my friend. I'd never had any friends until James shook my hand, I knew he was a bloodtraitor, his family were notorious and the Potter name mud in my house. I wanted to defy my parents and make friends with him and I did...and I went further than that...I asked the Sorting hat to put me into Gryffindor because I refused to be put in Slytherin. It was going to, you know?" He turned those silver eyes to Harry's green, they were wide and almost childlike in his pale face and Harry felt his heart ache in sympathy, he understood what loneliness was, he knew what it was like to be surrounded by mistrust and anger and unfounded hatred by those who were supposed to cherish him. "When my mother found out I received a Howler from her, it screamed my betrayal across the Great Hall, and my Slytherin cousins thought it was hilarious of course, but James...he smiled at me...he said he was glad I was in Gryffindor...No one had ever told me they were glad I'd done something, no one had ever smiled at me like he did." Sirius lowered his head, staring at his knees with a small frown. Harry was shocked to hear him sounding so much like a scared child, he was full of sympathy, when he had met Adult Sirius it had never occurred to him how lonely he must have been, how desperate for any show of affection, no matter how small. "The first time it happened I was in fourth year...it was my birthday, and James had given me a surprise party. Somehow he'd smuggled booze into the castle and we were drunk, the last ones to go to bed. We lay in front of the fireplace and he was laughing, he was so beautiful I couldn't help myself so I...I...kissed him." He shoved fingers into his hair and sighed. "He never pushed me away. He was gentle and I took that to mean more than it ever did...more than it ever _could_...I didn't _think_. I was stupid and blind and drunk and I let him take advantage of me...and it was so fucking _good_!" He stifled another desperate sob, he sounded so sad that Harry put a hand on his arm, even though his own chest was aching and he wasn't sure if that was due to sympathy or something more...

After a moment or two of silence Sirius finally looked up and their eyes met again, but there was something in Sirius' gaze, something that resembled hunger mixed with pain. "How did you find me?" He asked softly. Harry withdrew the map from his pocket and held it out, Sirius took it in shaking hands and gazed down at it, his eyes widened. "This map is..." He opened it and tapped it with his wand, slowly words began to appear, but they weren't the usual words of welcome Harry got...what spread across the front of the map were friendly greetings...as if they recognised Sirius.

_Messers Moony, Wormtail and Prongs welcome back Messer Padfoot. You're absence was noted and they would remind you not to neglect your Maruaderly duties in future_

_(Seriously though Pads, you need to keep updating this thing, or it'll get stale. Oh, and please remember to give Snivelly a kick up the arse from us.)_

_(Prongs, stop it.)_

_(Moony, go back to your homework.)_

_(Why are we arguing?)_

_(Mr. Prongs will remind Mr. Moony that he has yet to perform his promised task...)_

_(Mr. Moony would like to remind Mr. Prongs that he did not win the chess match, therefore he must become Mr. Moony's slave for the foreseeable future.)_

_(Mr. Wormtail, please remind Mr. Moony that Mr. Prongs is slave to no one.)_

It went on for a while before Sirius chuckled and tapped his wand against the parchment again, it went blank but before he could hand it back more writing spread across it rapidly, the penmanship was obviously rushed and hardly even readable, Harry had to squint to read it.

_Padfoot...come back soon. We miss you, we need you. Without you there is no Maruaders...Come home._

Sirius gazed at it with a sadness so deep it seemed to cut Harry to shreds. "Where did you get this from?" He asked roughly as the writing faded.

"Fred and George found it when they were here...in Filch's Office."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Then it's yours." He held it out to him but Harry shook his head, swallowing hard.

"No...You made it, it's yours."

"Harry...The map is...almost sentient. It belongs to those who use it and use it well..." He grabbed Harry's hands and wrapped them firmly around the parchment. "Your father would want you to have it...it's part of his legacy to you...along with the cloak. He would be happy..." When Sirius looked up he was smiling a smile that was gentle and sweet, it was a smile Harry had never seen on his face as an adult. "He would have loved you, I'm sure of it..." His voice cracked. "He would've loved you like he did Lily...like he never did me."

"Sirius..." Harry never thought about it, he simply moved. Before he or Sirius knew what was happening he was leaning forward and their lips were pressed against each other. He pushed Sirius to the floor and gazed down at him when he pulled away, Sirius looked up through his fringe, eyes wide with surprise. Briefly Hermione's warnings came rushing back to him and he had a second to wander if what he was doing was right or not, but when Sirius dragged him down again, when their lips met and their tongues touched he didn't care what happened afterwards, all that mattered was Sirius' body pressed close to his own, the soft feel of his hair in his fingers and that hot, insistent tongue dancing with his own.


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: Oh! So, we come to the sudden, but not unexpected, development of Sirius and Harry's relationship! Must thank everyone who has so kindly reviewed, I love them all. :D Keep 'em coming! I hope you enjoy this rather, heated chapter. (Actually It's pretty tame in comparison to what I normally write but this story lends itself to something a little cleaner.)_

_**Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.**__** - **__**Oscar Wilde**_

Sirius moaned softly, his fingers finding Harry's hair and pulling lightly. His legs were tangled with the other boys, their tongues teasing each other within the confines of their mouths and their breathing began to become heavy. Finally Sirius pulled away a little, his silver eyes were dark, his pupils large as they devoured the irises.

Harry could feel the heat of the body beneath him, his head buzzed with a confusing array of feelings, but he didn't have time to work them out as his head was dragged back down and they were kissing again, Sirius muttered something incomprehensible as his hand slid to the back of Harry's neck while the other ran down his back. The kiss was nothing like anything Harry had experienced, with Cho the kiss had been nervous and damp from her crying, but it had also been soft and sweet. Sirius however was rougher, his hands hard and his tongue much more confident. It sent odd shudders down Harry's spine and he found himself making noises that should have been embarrassing but weren't, Sirius moaned again uttering a soft gasp and he nipped lightly at Harry's lower lip before pulling away to catch his breath. "I could get used to this." He muttered in a rough voice. Suddenly he sat upright until he was straddling Harry's lap, he gazed down at him with those dark eyes which were heavily lidded. He licked his lips slowly, Harry followed the movement of his tongue as if entranced. "For someone who's inexperienced you're a pretty good kisser..."

Harry flushed at the comment but before he could speak his mouth was claimed once again, he found he had had his arms around Sirius' waist, his hands resting on the small of his back. Slowly he slid one upwards and into that soft hair, he gripped it tightly and accidently pulled on it when Sirius did something with his tongue that made him moan heavily. He felt Sirius rock his hips forward slightly and Harry's body responded in kind. "Siri-Sirius..." He muttered unsure what he was doing, but enjoying it immensely.

Sirius pulled away again, his pupils so huge they had turned his eyes almost black. "What do you want?" He whispered hoarsely. "Tell me to stop...before I do something stupid..."

"I-I...Sirius I..." Harry stumbled over his own tongue, his cheeks going red. "I'm..." Before he could answer Sirius had pushed him onto his back.

"We're safe in here...aren't we?" He whispered, his lips finding Harry's throat as their fingers entwined.

Harry felt electricity flood his nerves. He shuddered and bit down on his bottom lip to stop a groan from escaping. "Y-Yeah...I think..." He managed to mutter.

"Good..." Sirius claimed his mouth again, this time putting much more force behind it than he had been, his teeth found the sensitive skin on Harry's neck and he nipped at it almost playfully before moving back to his lips. His body was pressed flush against Harry's own and he couldn't fail to feel Harry's reaction to his ministrations, he grinned into the kiss, deepening it further. Sirius suddenly pulled away and sat up, so he sat astride Harry and was gazing down into his eyes. His pitch black hair was messy and his lips slightly reddened by kissing, Harry felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked up at him. Then, to his shock Sirius pulled his robes over his head and let them fall to the floor before pulling on his tie so it dangled half way down his chest, his shirt was already undone as he started on Harry's own clothes.

Sirius unbuttoned Harry's trousers, his fingers deft and fast. When the fly had been undone Harry went crimson and his fingers grabbed Sirius'. "Wait!" He gasped in panic. "What...how...?" His cheeks went even darker and Sirius smiled as he leaned down and stroked hair Harry's forehead.

"Don't worry, Prongslet, I know what I'm doing...trust me." He whispered and kissed him gently on the corner of his mouth. "I can make you feel really good...Do you trust me, Harry?"

"I-I..." He bit down on his bottom lip before nodding slowly. "Yeah..."

"Good." Sirius continued unbuttoning Harry's trousers, when he was done he pulled them down to his knees with his underpants and took a moment to stare, which made Harry try and cover himself. Sirius chuckled and pulled his hands away. "That would make things terribly hard, Harry...just relax." When Harry nervously moved his hands away he watched Sirius pull his own clothes off until he was only wearing his open shirt and Gryffindor tie. He raised an eyebrow at Harry's half open mouth. "Like what you see?" He asked with a soft laugh. "This is going to be really rough on me..." He muttered, a small frown creasing his brows. "But don't worry, I'm used to it."

What he did next made Harry almost bolt in terror. It was too real. Much, much too real...yet, when he looked into Sirius' eyes as he lowered himself onto Harry, squinting slightly as pain assaulted him, Harry couldn't imagine anything more perfect.

By the time Sirius was seated properly he was shaking, his eyes closed tightly against the burning agony and his teeth bared. He took slow, deep breaths to try and ease the pain. When he finally opened his eyes as the pain receded somewhat he was greeted by the sight of Harry, lying on his back, his eyes clouded and dark with desire. Before he could think of his next move he was pulled down and a hot tongue forced its way into his mouth, he moaned and felt Harry push his hips upward, his hands grabbed Harry's hair tightly as pain engulfed him once again and he had to force himself to relax again. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, the pain faded to be replaced by an overwhelming pleasure. He began to move his own body in time with Harry's, their movements becoming faster and more heated, their mouths were locked together, fingers tightening in each other's hair as they swallowed each other's gasps of pleasure.

Sirius had expected things to be less pleasurable, he remembered his first time and what an embarrassment of random fumbling and pauses and whispers of _Are you alright? Am I doing this ok? Does it hurt? _He was even more shocked when he was rolled onto his back, he found himself gazing into emerald eyes and muttering softly, a litany of nonsense. His lips formed words he wasn't even aware he was speaking and Harry replied by kissing him deeply.

It was beyond anything Harry could have imagined, all his earlier embarrassment had faded until his body was buzzing and he was moving purely on instinct. He loved the way that, with each movement, with each soft touch he could make a new noise erupt from Sirius' parted lips, he loved the strange sense of control he got from the realisation that it was him making Sirius mutter his name, it was him causing Sirius to arch his back right of the floor and beg softly for more..._he_ was the one making Sirius' eyes glow and causing the gentle sheen of sweat that made his hair stick to his forehead. Every moment, every sound, touch and scent needed to be recorded lest it turn out to be a dream and he wake up and forget it all. Then Sirius made a noise that made him worry, he almost slowed...

"Nnno..." Sirius gasped his eyes fluttering closed as he pulled Harry closer with his legs. "More..." He gasped, his fingers clutching tightly to his shirt. Harry leaned down and kissed him as he felt a familiar stab of searing heat.

Sirius' orgasm took him by surprise, his eyes snapped closed and he swore softly as bright white wiped away his thoughts.

When they had recovered slightly Harry, who had collapsed on top of Sirius, pushed himself up on shaking arms. Sirius lay beneath him, his hair a midnight halo of tangled snarls and his eyes slightly out of focus, his chest rose and fell rapidly beneath his stained shirt. "Fuck..." He said softly and a slow smile crept onto his face.

Harry felt himself return it and before he knew it he was giggling. Everything felt a little unreal, as if it was all just a dream and he would wake soon, but there was also a reality to it that made him see everything with a strange clarity, even through wonky glasses. The world was brighter, clearer than it ever had been and he felt a strange buzzing sensation through his body that made his skin tingle pleasantly. Finally though, he rolled off of Sirius and lay still a moment, gazing up at the great domed ceiling of the room and blinking. "So...er..." He cleared his throat and frowned. "That was...different..."

Sirius chuckled and rolled onto his side so he was resting his head on Harry's chest, he shifted his legs and made a face of discomfort. "You seemed to like it though." He muttered.

"Um...yeah...I-I guess...It's just...well...we're both...guys and isn't that a little...you know, weird?"

Sirius looked up at him through his tangled fringe. "Weird? Why?"

"Well, men don't usually do this...together..."

"They don't?" Sirius lifted himself up onto his arm and looked down into Harry's flushed face. He cocked his head to the side and frowned. "What's wrong with it? Who cares if we're both men?"

"People do care Sirius..." Harry sat up, he was finding it very difficult to look into those burning silver eyes. "I...maybe...we shouldn't have...I mean..." He felt Sirius stiffen at his side.

"Yeah..." He said roughly. "Maybe you're right...I'm sorry..." He stood shakily, his legs feeling a little like jelly, but he gathered up his clothes without meeting Harry's eyes. "It won't happen again."

Harry yanked up his own trousers as he heard Sirius changing rapidly. Before he had stood he caught sight of Sirius' robes sweeping round a corner. He swore and ran after him. He caught him at the door and reached for him, grabbing a handful of his robes before turning him around and pushing him into the doors. He crushed his lips against Sirius' for a moment before pulling away and pressing his forehead to his. "I'm sorry...I-I just...I don't even understand what I'm feeling...I...I shouldn't be feeling anything...I'm confused...everything's happening so fast and I..."

"Harry?"

Harry heard the roughness in Sirius' voice and looked up into his face. "What's wrong?"

Sirius smiled weakly. "It's nothing...you're right. I shouldn't have done that...we shouldn't have...it's not right. I'm sorry...I hope you can forgive me..." He sighed heavily and tipped his head back against the door, his eyes closed. "I'm not even supposed to be here...I'm screwing up everything! They'll find a way to send me back...o-or the Ministry will come for me and take me away but...either way...I can't stay! They won't let me! Harry...I've ruined everything...all because I'm so selfish! I'm sorry."

Harry gazed at him with wide eyes. "The Ministry? Why?"

Sirius looked pained. "They want to...to keep me locked up so they can see if there's anything special about me...they'll want to know if I have some kind of new power or if I'm able to do things they don't know about...They'll come for me and Dumbledore won't be able to stop them."

"But that's stupid! They can't do that...you're human!"

Sirius shook his head slowly. "They have to test stuff on something Harry...everyone knows the Unspeakable's get up to all sorts of dodgy stuff...There's no helping it...it's either that or I end up in the hands of Voldemort and either way it's looking pretty bleak from where I'm standing. Hell, I don't even know if these headaches are going to kill me or not..." He sighed heavily. "Everything is so fucked up..."

"Headaches?" Harry frowned. "What headaches?"

"I've been getting headaches since the day I first appeared in this time...they're slowly getting worse and once I actually saw James, Peter and Remus all sat around in the common room talking about me...but I was invisible and no one could hear me...Dumbledore told me to go to Pomfrey if they get worse...which probably means he's worried about my health and that can't be good."

Harry frowned as he digested what Sirius was saying then a determined gleam entered his eyes. "We won't let them take you, Voldemort or the Ministry! No one will take you away from me...not now I've only just found you again..."

"What are you supposed to do against the whole Ministry and even Voldemort and his Death Eaters?"

"We'll think of something, Sirius. I promise I won't let anything ruin this for me!" he took a breath. "There's not much in my life that's good, and usually when I gain something it's taken from me...but not again! Never again! I won't let Voldemort take everything!"

Sirius looked at him in silence for a long time, seeing that determination, the same kind of determination he had seen on James' face. He lifted his hand and brushed strands of hair from Harry's eyes before leaning and kissing him gently. "Thank you." He whispered and when he drew away he was smiling, his eyes glittering oddly. "That you care so much is...nice. There's not many people in my life who care about me...and I...I'm grateful...Harry." He leaned close, his lips meeting Harry's as his fingers slid into his hair. It was a slow kiss that made Harry shiver and his skin tingle. When they drew away from each other Harry smiled slightly, he realised that for all this confusion he was actually quite content. It didn't matter that when they left the room they would have to go back to being simply friends, it didn't matter because they had this moment.

As Harry pulled him closer, Sirius realised with a sudden jolt of surprise that he was actually enjoying Harry's embrace and before he knew it he was smiling into the kiss.

Hermione looked up as she heard loud laughter echo through the common room, Harry and Sirius were smiling happily as they walked over to the comfy chairs by the fire place. Sirius threw himself down and beamed around at everyone, an odd flush on his cheeks as if he had been outside in the cold. Hermione's eyes narrowed suspiciously, as the evening drew on she noticed Harry and Sirius continuously glancing at each other, each with a tiny, knowing smirk on their faces. Harry was acting differently as well, he stood straighter, his bearing much more confident than usual and he was giggling a lot more.

"Siri, can you hand me the ink?" Harry asked, reaching across the table.

Sirius nodded and handed him the little pot, when Harry took it their fingers touched and lingered for longer than normal. Hermione realised what had happened and she uttered a small gasp, Sirius raised an eyebrow as he released the ink pot and Harry looked at her. Ron seemed oblivious as he worked on his essay with a furious frown on his face. "You alright Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Oh...oh yes...I'm fine..." She hastily returned her eyes to her Arithmancy essay, but she could no longer concentrate.

Throughout the next few days Hermione watched Harry and Sirius, they were closer, their smiles secretive and there was a warmth in their eyes that made her sad. She was glad they were happy, but she knew that it was doomed, and she didn't want to see Harry hurt.

One day, the night before the first Hogsmeade weekend Harry woke to something warm being pressed against his lips, slowly his eyes opened and he found himself gazing into half closed silver eyes. Sirius pulled away, smirking. "Awake now?" He muttered.

"Yeah..." Harry stifled a yawn behind his hand. "What time is it?"

"Three am." Sirius chuckled at Harry's incredulous expression. "I couldn't sleep so I wanted to..." He broke off as Harry pulled him down and they kissed slowly for a while.

"You can sleep here." Harry muttered.

Sirius nodded and curled up under Harry's duvet. Outside the wind howled fiercely, Sirius could hear the screech as it found cracks in the old walls and windows of the drafty castle. He snuggled deeper as Harry put an arm around him and he closed his eyes...He had not expected to fall asleep, he hadn't slept at all since his trip into the future, but with that beautiful warmth pressed firmly against his back he fell into a darkness so complete it was like a smothering blanket.

When he woke that morning, long before anyone else in the dorm it took him a long time to work out where he was, he smiled and snuggled deeper into that oddly familiar warmth. He sighed softly as fingers slipped into his own and he felt soft breathing on the back of his neck. "Harry..." He whispered softly, making the arm tighten around his waist and a soft sigh escape the boy at his back. Slowly he opened his eyes and blinked before rubbing sleep from his eyes, he rolled over, still in the confines of that warm embrace. He found his face inches from Harry's and they grinned at each other. "This is...kind of nice..." Sirius whispered. "I've never woken up beside someone before...not like this." His smile fell slightly and he rubbed the top of his head beneath Harry's chin like a puppy. "People will get suspicious if they find us." He muttered, kissing the tip of Harry's nose.

"But you're comfy." Harry replied.

Sirius giggled. "Let's compromise, hmm?" Before Harry could answer Sirius wriggled and all of a sudden he had an arm full of massive black dog, it licked his face making him sputter and try to fend it off. "Siri-..." he gasped, laughing. "Sirius stop! Bad dog!" He pushed its massive head away and sat up, wiping his face on a blanket. Sirius lay at his side, tail wagging and those silver, all too human eyes on him. He whined softly as they began to hear the mutters of the others in the dorm.

The day promised to be depressingly cold and windy as they sat down to Breakfast. Sirius and Harry were in high spirits however, they laughed and chatted amiably while they ate. Hermione was quiet, she watched the pair with knowing eyes while Ron laughed with them, blissfully unaware of the tiny touches, the soft glances, the small smiles and the brush of fingers as they passed the ketchup.


	11. Chapter 11

_AN: Wow! So much interest in my little story! There are not words enough in any language of this world and the Potter-verse to express my thanks! I love you all, you're brilliant, wonderful people! :D I will try and keep up the standard of story writing you have come to expect from me, and I hope you continue to reward me with your little comments. :)_

_**No man is rich enough to buy back his past.**__** - **__**Oscar Wilde**_

The trip to Hogsmeade was a cold and uneventful thing, all except Harry managing to dodge yet another one of Slughorn's party invitations. Sirius hadn't come with them, preferring to stay behind in the warmth of the common room, which, as they trudged back through the blustery sleet, Harry wished he had done.

Sirius sat in one of the comfy arm chairs and gazed into the fire, it was warm and he was glad he had chosen to stay behind, but he half wished he had gone with Harry, if only so he could be at his side rather than sitting alone and thinking, as ever, of their exploits in the Room of Requirement. He smiled softly to himself as he immersed himself in memories, he ignored the very obvious stares he was getting from the few girls on the other seats.

When Harry returned, later than Sirius had expected him, he jumped to his feet and ran over to greet him happily. But Harry looked less than happy and when he jerked his head towards the seats Sirius followed him and the four of them sat down. Harry explained what he had witnessed and how McGonagall had dismissed his idea that Malfoy had given Katie Bell the cursed necklace. Sirius sat in silence as Harry spoke and when he finished he gazed out the window thoughtfully.

"I just wish I had some proof, some idea of what he's up to!" Harry muttered darkly after a while.

"Harry, how many times do you have to be told? Malfoy wasn't even in Hogsmeade!" Hermione said with a sigh.

"Yeah, mate, he couldn't have been the one to give her the necklace." Ron agreed.

"I know it was him! I just wish I had proof..." Harry huffed as he sank lower in his seat with a dark frown on his face.

Sirius watched him, his eyes dark and heavily lidded so he resembled his cousin. He didn't join in their conversation when they began discussing who the necklace was intended for. When everyone went up to bed he didn't follow, Harry gave him a concerned glance. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine, prongslet...go to bed, I'll be up later." Sirius smiled to try and ease his fear but Harry went to bed feeling cold and lonely. When Harry had gone up to the dorm Sirius stood and slipped out the portrait hole, he walked with a determined stride as he made his way to the seventh corridor using the secret passageways. When he stopped outside the painting of the Trolls learning Ballet he walked past it three times and when the doors opened he stepped inside.

"Damn it!"

The curse echoed loudly through the vaulted ceiling and Sirius made his way towards it, when he turned a corner he saw Malfoy sitting slumped against a cabinet with his fingers in his hair. Sirius moved towards him, each foot fall silent and Draco didn't even notice him until he was feet away. When he looked up he made a noise of shock and leapt to his feet, backing away with his wand in hand. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius watched the wand calmly for a minute before smiling, a smile that would have suited a serpent. "I am here to reconsider your offer, Malfoy." He said softly, taking a step closer as the blond narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"Why would you suddenly reconsider?"

Sirius shrugged, running a finger across a dusty broken sideboard. "No idea...boredom perhaps? Or perhaps I've decided that I'm enjoying being alive and whole far too much to be handed over to the Dark lord. Choose one..." He moved closer to Draco who still looked wary. "There is only one issue I have...I refuse to take the unbreakable vow."

"Then you will know nothing! I don't trust you."

"Of course, and that's a very sensible attitude to have. Trust is a weakness, it blinds you to betrayal. However, there are more ways than one to make a pact, Malfoy. Didn't Daddy ever teach you that Blood is stronger than any vow?" He lifted his palm and Draco's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "Very good, not as stupid as you look are you?"

"I'm not...!"

Sirius cut him off. "Let's get this over with." He said sharply, eyes glittering beneath the light of the many candles which Draco had lit and placed on every available surface.

"It's Dark Magic this...are you sure...?"

Sirius gave him a sharp look. "I know what I'm doing. What do you take me for? Remember who it is you're speaking to, Malfoy." He removed a sharp silver pocket knife from his robes and flicked open the blade. "Blood Magic is Dark Magic...but it's strong. Come on, you know what to do."

Quickly Draco moved forward, pocketing his wand and placing a candle upon the surface of the nearest sideboard. "I don't just want you to swear you won't tell anyone..." He whispered hoarsely, his eyes avoiding Sirius'.

"Name it and I'll see what I can do." Sirius replied, the silver knife glittering like his eyes.

"I-I...I want..." Draco flushed and looked away, frowning.

"Ah, I see." Sirius blew hair from his eyes. "If it's to stop me from being sent to the Dark Lord then I guess you can take whatever you want." He said, voice rough as he lifted his hand and sliced the palm open. He barely even winced as crimson blood painted his white skin. He closed his fingers into a fist and held it above the candle flame, his eyes met Draco's who still looked shocked at what he was doing. "Say the words then." He muttered as his own blood ran in tiny rivulets down his knuckles and hissed as they burnt up in the orange flame.

"O-Ok." Draco swallowed and removed his wand, holding it above Sirius' hand. "Do you Sirius-..."

"Orion." Sirius muttered, frowning into the flame as he began concentrating with all his might.

"Do you S-Sirius Orion B-Black...swear to keep what I tell you here a secret?"

"I do." Sirius breathed, eyes narrowing even further as he whispered a chant in his mind.

The candle guttered, the flame briefly flaring as crimson as Sirius' blood. "D-Do you swear t-to help me to the best of your ability and follow any order I g-give you without q-question?"

Sirius licked his lips briefly. "I do."

"Then swear it."

"I swear."

When Sirius uttered the last two words the flame roared higher, it engulfed Sirius' hand but if he was in any pain he hid it. The flames went from red to bright, searing green before dying and the candle went out with a snake-like hiss. Sirius gasped and fell backwards, he looked at his hand, opening it to see the blood staining his palm and the black soot covering his knuckles. With a wince he licked the blood off and silently hoped he had been able to pull off his own secret spell...he had never done wandless magic before and he wasn't certain if it had worked. He swayed slightly as dizziness overcame him and he slumped against the cabinet, panting softly. Malfoy shook slightly as he gazed at the blood stained candle, then he blinked as if waking from a dream and looked at Sirius who gazed at him through a curtain of black hair. Draco smirked. "And now you have to do whatever I say..."

Sirius smiled and straightened himself out. "So it would seem. What will you have me do first?"

"Tonight?" Draco gazed thoughtfully at his new found companion for a moment before his smirk widened. "I want you to tell me what is between you and Potter."

Sirius sat down on a desk, he didn't feel a compulsion and he took that as a good sign. "Well, if you're asking that means you already know." He replied slowly.

"I suspect, that's entirely different from knowing. Now tell me."

Now that was an order, Sirius waited for a second and when he didn't feel anything he smiled inwardly, his counter spell had worked. "We've slept together." He said softly, eyes never wavering from Draco's. He knew that he had to speak some truths, because if he lied often Draco would be more likely to discover it.

"So, you sleep with other boys?"

"Occasionally, when the fancy takes me."

"I see..." Malfoy stepped closer. This was what Sirius had been dreading, but he held his ground as Draco ran a casual finger up his thigh slowly. "I want to..."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You want my body in exchange for my help. I got that already. Let's get this over with then, shall we." He lifted his hands and slipped his robes over his head, letting them fall into a crumpled heap on the floor. Draco watched him in fascination as Sirius began unbuttoning his shirt. Suddenly the Slytherin grabbed his Gryffindor tie and yanked on it hard, Sirius fell forward and off the table with a shocked gasp. Draco removed the tie and threw it to the floor where he set fire to it with a flick of his wand. "Red and Gold doesn't suit you, Black."

Sirius watched his tie smoulder. "Obviously not." He replied softly as Draco grabbed his hair tightly and yanked his head backwards.

"You're mine now, _dog_." He said with an evil smile.

Sirius returned it. "If you say so."

Through the whole encounter Sirius never made a sound, even when he was in pain. He simply closed his eyes and tried to think of other things. Draco had forced him onto his hands and knees so he felt glad that he didn't have to look into that face, the face that resembled Lucius. When it was over Draco left him there to tidy himself up before staggering to his feet and leaving the room feeling violated and used, but he kept telling himself the same thing over and over...

It was for Harry. It was because Harry needed to know the truth of what was happening. Everything was for Harry...What did his body, his pride and his own self-worth have against Harry's happiness? If he could use his body to manipulate Malfoy into giving away his plans then he could tell Harry what the blond was doing and make him happy, because he only wanted to see him smile. He never wanted Harry to stop smiling. He had decided, when Harry had told him he cared, that he would do anything for him...he would walk through the very flames of hell and worse if it meant that Harry would simply hold him at night.

When he reached the Dorms it was late, very late and so he washed very quickly and in cold water before sliding beneath the covers of Harry's bed and snuggling into his warmth. He smiled as he felt Harry murmur sleepily and wrap his arms around him. "G'night Harry." Sirius whispered contentedly.

When Harry had his next lesson with Dumbledore Sirius took the time to go meet Malfoy as they had arranged. He found the blond in the Room of Requirement, bending over inside the cabinet. When Sirius approached Draco turned and smiled. "You came, I didn't think you would."

"I swore." Sirius replied. "So, what is it you're doing?"

"Not yet, Black. I'll tell you when I'm nearer completing it." He said firmly. "For now I want you to just help me...I could use your magic."

"Ok. What do you want me to do?"

Harry returned to an almost empty common room, Ron and Hermione were the only ones up. He frowned as he searched for Sirius. "Where's...?"

Before he could complete his question the portrait hole opened and Sirius climbed through, one look at him told Harry something was wrong. He was pale and swaying slightly on his feet, his robes were torn slightly and when Harry drew closer he saw dark stains on them. Sirius smiled weakly. "Hi." He muttered as he stepped forward. Harry made to touch him but Sirius flinched away, holding out his hands. "Best not...I..." He sighed heavily. "I'm tired...I'm going to bed." He moved towards the stair case but Harry stopped him.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing Harry...I'm sorry." He walked up the stairs without a backward glance, leaving Harry feeling confused and worried.

That night Harry lay awake listening to the gentle snores of his fellow dorm mates, he frowned up at the canopy of his bed as he remembered the state Sirius had been in, he had had an odd smell clinging to him, like something burning and something else...something that reminded him of their time in the Room of Requirement. He heard movement and he listened as feet moved across the stone floor and his bed curtains were drawn back, he turned to see Sirius' form, highlighted in silver moonlight. He moved over and Sirius slipped into his bed and snuggled beneath the blankets, he let out a small, contented sigh. "I can sleep when I'm with you." He whispered quietly as Harry wrapped an arm around him and buried his face into his long silky hair.

"Why can't you sleep?" Harry replied feeling Sirius shift in his arms as he rolled over to look at him.

"Nightmares." He said softly.

Harry nodded, pushing hair from Sirius' eyes and leaning towards him. They kissed slowly for a long time until they had to breathe, he felt Sirius push his body closer, his breathing becoming ragged. "Sirius?" Harry muttered against his lips.

"Just kiss me." Sirius replied, an odd bite to his voice that made Harry worry. "Kiss me and tell me you won't leave me...don't let me be alone."

"I promise, but what is this all-mmm..." He felt lips against his own, stifling all his questions until his mind was wiped blissfully blank. "Sirius..." Harry moaned as Sirius pressed himself closer, wrapping a leg around Harry and moving his hips slowly.

"Do you need me, Harry?" Sirius muttered, kissing Harry's throat, his sharp teeth nipping at the flesh lightly. "Tell me you need me and I'm yours...forever. I'll never leave your side."

"Siri, wha-nn..." Harry was finding concentration very difficult.

"Just say you need me...that you want me and I'll do _anything_ for you." Sirius sounded desperate, his fingers rough as he slid his hands inside Harry's pyjama bottoms. "I'll throw myself off of the Astronomy Tower if you just said so. _Please_, Harry..."

"I..." Harry closed his eyes, losing his train of thought as skilled fingers made waves of pleasure sweep through him. Finally he sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed Sirius' wrist, halting his movement and forcing the other boy to look into his eyes. "What's wrong? Why did you come in tonight looking like hell?"

Sirius smiled, cocking his head to the side. "I want to bring you a gift...and make you happy. I can't say yet...but it'll be good, I promise."

"You're not yourself...if you're hurt or in danger or..."

"No...nothing like that. I-I just..." He sighed. "Never mind." He began drawing away but Harry caught him again, drawing him closer and pressing his lips to his forehead.

"I _do_ need you Sirius."

Sirius let out a soft sigh and when he looked at Harry he was smiling, eyes sparkling in the moonlight. "That is all I wanted to hear. I'm yours Harry, forever. No matter what happens, know that I'll never betray you. I'll follow you forever."

Harry had time to briefly wander if that was a healthy thing in a relationship. He had always known how loyal Sirius was, in much the same way his canine alter-ego was, but hearing him just throw his heart at anyone willing to say they needed him was a little disturbing, did he really care so little about himself? He thought about all the stories he had heard about people who beat their pets and House-elves, treating them like dirt and yet they continued to remain loyal and devoted to the detriment of their own health. He frowned to himself, but all these thoughts were blown away when he felt Sirius move down beneath the duvet. "Sirius what are you...?" Harry stopped mid-sentence when he felt wet heat encase his erection. He groaned heavily, his fingers sliding into that soft silky hair as his eyes closed. "Sirius..." He whispered, trying to keep his voice down.

With Harry's words echoing in his head Sirius continued to seduce Malfoy's secrets from him. It was so easy it was almost laughable, Sirius simply had to smile and Malfoy would spill all his fears, all his worry and even the fact that it was he who had given Katie Bell the necklace, although he would refuse to answer who it had been intended for or who his informant outside Hogwarts was.

Time passed and Harry had the first Quidditch Match of the season drawing rapidly closer, he had little time to dwell on anything else, especially with his massive work load. The teachers expected them to all be using Non-verbal spells and the only lesson he was any good in was Potions, with the help of the book he had received from Slughorn and Sirius' encouragement. Hermione hated the Half-blood Princes book but Ron agreed that it was harmless, even with the fact that Harry had been learning the handwritten spells inside. Sirius had told him about Levicorpus and that it had had a boom in popularity in his time, he didn't recognise many of the other spells that Harry pointed out so they tried them out on Filch, Crabb and Goyle to rather amusing results.

One evening Harry was sat cursing his inability to do non-verbal spells. Sirius overheard him and he drew closer, watching Harry point his wand at a quill he was trying to levitate.

"You're not concentrating hard enough." Sirius muttered as he took a seat beside Harry, he drew his own wand and gave it a flick, the quill rose into the air and did a few circuites of the common room before coming to rest back on the table.

"How do you do that?" Harry exclaimed miserably.

"Easy when you get the hang of it, it's all in the way you concentrate..." Sirius smiled slowly. "I can teach you...help you practice if you want?"

"That would be brilliant." Harry muttered with a relieved sigh, Sirius' smile was ecstatic, like a puppy given a task to do.

"In exchange can you teach me to do a Patronus? I heard from Hermione you can produce a Corporeal Patronus?"

Harry nodded. "It's a stag, always a stag."

Sirius' smile was utterly beautiful. "I want to know how."

"Ok, we'll do that."

So, Sirius ended up teaching Harry non-verbal spells and Harry taught Sirius how to do a Patronus. They had fun sneaking off to the Room of Requirement for practice sessions and afterwards a quite bit of snogging in the gloom as the candles guttered in their holders. Sirius was passionate, a force of wild energy that grabbed Harry's heart and squeezed it so he had difficulty breathing, when Sirius was in his arms, touching him, kissing every part of him he could reach Harry could think of nothing else, even Malfoy and his activities were driven from his mind.

Sirius was a brilliant teacher and an even more brilliant student, he took to the charm easily, making it look as simple as a hovering charm. His patronus began as a silvery mist, as he concentrated upon one of the few Happy memories he had. Harry was pleased with his rapid progress, and it wasn't long before he produced his first, fully-formed patronus.

"It's got to be a significantly happy memory Sirius." Harry said softly from where he sat on a nearby chest.

Sirius scrunched his nose, making Harry want to kiss it for some bizarre reason. He pushed that aside and concentrated on watching Sirius try to work the charm. "Damn it all!" He muttered furiously as a stream of unformed, pale smoke drifted from his wand. "I can't do it!" He whinged.

Harry chuckled. "It's hard, isn't it?"

"Yes." Sirius sighed and ran fingers through his hair. "I'll try again." He closed his eyes and rifled through his memories, his first thought had been of ones of James and their briefly snatched privacy in closed off classrooms...then he saw, in his minds eye, a flash of emerald green eyes and a bright smile spread across his face. "Harry?" He muttered, still not opening his eyes.

"Mm?" Harry had a book on his knees, only half paying attention to Sirius as he read Advanced Potion Making.

"Tell me again."

"tell you what?" He looked up to see the light from the windows highlight Sirius' face, he was smiling.

"That you need me."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"Alright...I need you Sirius Black." Harry whispered, smiling faintly.

That was all he wanted. Sirius raised his wand. "Expecto Patronum!" He said clearly and all of a sudden, bright white light filled the room, Harry blinked away the after image and when he fully opened his eyes he saw a great, hulking dog running across the room. "I did it!" Sirius exclaimed wildly, he turned to face Harry grinning.

"You did." Harry said, smiling back. "A dog...not all that surprising, is it?"

Sirius shook his head as he watched his Dog fade into glittering mist. "Thanks, you're a good teacher, you know that?" He reached Harry's seat in two quick strides. "Maybe I should call you professor." He smirked as Harry pushed him in the arm playfully.

"That's weird..." Harry replied. He smiled as Sirius leaned closer.

"Kiss me Harry." He whispered softly, and Harry smiled and did as he was asked.

Under Sirius' tutelage Harry found that he had an unrealised aptitude for silent spell work. Once he had done it once it was easier to do it again, and again, until he was pulling off non-verbal spells with an ease that shocked his teachers and made Hermione almost jealous. Ron and Hermione had no idea of Sirius' secret lessons with Harry, and they kept their rendezvous to themselves.

Hermione noticed how close Sirius and had become and it worried her more every day. Even with the cold way Ron was treating her on top of everything else, she simply did not like the way Sirius would disappear every night and once she had even sneaked the Marauders Map from Harry's bag to check for Sirius...and she couldn't find him anywhere. She resolved to keep checking whenever she could, and one day on the night before the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor she saw his dot beside that of Draco Malfoy's, they disappeared soon after and with a snap everything clicked into place. Why was Sirius spending time with Malfoy in the Room of Requirement?


	12. Chapter 12

_AN: Yay! Another chapter. Thanks to all the reviews I have so far and to all of you who have faved/Alerted. You have my eternal thanks. Now, things begin to change! This chapter will be the last to have any canon connotations. :) Enjoy and keep giving me your loverly opinions, I am so very happy I can make you happy!_

"_**Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."**____**  
**__**―**____**Martin Luther King Jr**_

Slughorn decided to hold a Christmas party, and since the announcement Harry suddenly found himself the object of many girls stares and giggles. He despised it, even more so when he realised he would be unable to take Sirius to the party as his plus one. Hermione had reminded him that taking another boy would look very strange, but he didn't have to worry when Slughorn invited Sirius along as well. He was also having difficulty with both Ron and Hermione, who were no longer on speaking terms, Ron had ended up snogging Lavender Brown in the post-match party after Gryffindor had once again beaten Slytherin and Hermione had been hurt by it. So, he spent more and more time alone with Sirius, not that either of them were complaining. They spent hours cosied up by the warmth of the fire and talking quietly, Sirius had been slightly distracted, and sometimes he would stare out the window for hours in perfect silence, but Harry couldn't make him tell him what was wrong. Harry eventually decided to take Luna Lovegood to the party, much to Sirius' amusement.

On the night of the party Harry was unable to find Sirius so he went down to the Entrance Hall to meet Luna before going to Slughorn's office. The room was spectacularly decorated with hangings in green, crimson and gold. There were House-elves running about with trays of party food, glasses of mead and wine and other assorted things, Harry's eyes immediately sought Sirius but could find neither hide nor hair of him. He frowned as Slughorn dragged him over to speak to some man who was an auto-biographer, after dispelling any hopes the man had of ever getting Harry to give him an interview he spotted Hermione and dashed off after her, Luna tagging behind him gazing around the party with mild interest.

"Hermione!" Harry said, smiling at his friend.

"Oh, hello Harry, Luna..." Her eyes darted around the place, she looked nervous.

"What's wrong?"

"I've just ditched...I mean, I've just got away from McLaggen." She muttered with a significant glance at Harry. "Under the mistletoe." She clarified. "Harry!" She tugged on his sleeve and Harry looked around, following her finger. "Isn't that Sirius?"

Harry couldn't see who she was pointing at, then he spotted him and his heart stopped in his chest. Sirius Black was standing and speaking softly to some old man, he was dressed in robes of pale silver. Harry had given him some of his money back as they weren't entirely sure whether Sirius would have access to his accounts, but he hadn't been aware Sirius had bought dress robes. His long hair was tied back with a matching ribbon, the robes had pale green leaves sewn around the sleeves and hem in glittering thread. He looked fantastic. Harry watched as Sirius took a silver goblet offered by a house-elf, his eyes moving casually around the room and they met Harry's, his smile was suddenly full of joy and he dismissed the old man and walked over to them. The man looked a bit confused at being treated like that before he wandered off into the crowds. "Harry!" Sirius said excitedly, eyes sparkling like his robes, he grabbed another goblet and pushed it into Harry's fingers. "Drink!" He said and his smile widened to reveal sharp canine teeth. "This is fun isn't it?"

"Erm...I-I guess...Sirius, where did you get the robes?"

"Oh these?" He held out his arm, the sleeve was long and inside Harry could see it was lined in satin. "Second hand one's...took quite a bit of adjusting but they turned out alright. I like yours, that colour suites you."

Harry returned his smile, he couldn't help himself, Sirius' joy was infectious. Even Hermione was smiling. "Mrs. Weasley got them for me in fourth year, they needed to be adjusted but they fit alright."

"Who did you bring to the party?" Hermione asked in a would-be-casual voice.

Sirius shrugged. "I had loads of offers, turned them all down."

"You came on your own?" Luna asked, turning her large eyes on Sirius.

"Yeah, I don't see it as an issue. I'm not a popularity contest...Also, I'm pretty sure Hogwarts doesn't want to have girls killing each other in its halls." He grinned as Hermione shot him a shocked glance.

"Sirius! That's completely arrogant!"

"No...It's me accepting that I am extremely attractive...look around us Hermione, do you see where most girls eyes are?" He didn't need to turn, he could feel the burn of their gazes.

Hermione sighed. "Yes, but you can't just announce that kind of stuff...it makes you look stuck up."

Sirius shrugged, taking a swallow of wine. "So? I can't say I care what others think...unless it's Harry. Who is also getting his fair share of glances too, so I'm not hogging all the attention."

Harry glanced around, feeling suddenly nervous. "Really?" He muttered, unable to see what Sirius was talking about.

"Yeah, you're supposed to be the Chosen One after all." Harry made to punch him but Sirius laughed, a loud bark that made people stare.

"Oh no!" Hermione squeaked, suddenly ducking away. "He's coming...I have to go."

Sirius watched her run and raised a curious eye-brow. Harry spotted the tall form of McLaggen striding towards them. "Harry, have you seen Hermione?" He asked, eyes sweeping over Luna and Sirius.

"No. Sorry." Harry replied.

The party was enjoyable, Harry spent time in the corner, avoiding Slughorn who tried to insist he greet all these famous people and make connections. They talked and laughed happily, drinking goblet after goblet until Harry was feeling slightly foggy, Sirius' eyes glittered and his smile was big, he had a flush on his cheeks as he downed his eleventh goblet.

Slughorn found them again, he was beaming, his hat slightly skew and a drink in one hand. "Harry m'boy! How are you? Enjoying yourselves?"

"Very much sir." Sirius replied smoothly, tilting his head politely. "You throw the most excellent parties, my brother always said so."

Harry raised an eyebrow at this careful flattery, Sirius avoided his eyes but he didn't miss the flash of white teeth from his smirk. "Ah, such a shame I could not have added you to my group Mr. Black. You are a very talented student."

"You're too kind, sir."

"And Harry! Well, I was just telling Severus..." And, with a glance over his shoulder he seemed to scoop Snape from thin air. The ex-potions master looked at Harry with narrowed eyes. "You must have inherited your mothers talent, of course, she was a genius! Pure brilliance. You must have taught him well."

"Odd. I don't seem to recall ever being able to teach him at all." Snape replied slowly, his voice low.

Sirius sneered. "I think that says more about your teaching skills than it does Harry's potion making, Professor." He hissed.

Before Snape could retort Slughorn began a long winded recount of Lily Evans' many wonderful potions. Suddenly there was a commotion by the door, Filch was dragging an angry looking Draco Malfoy towards them. "Professor, I found this one out in the corridors before curfew, he reckons he was invited to your party...is this so?"

Harry shared a glance with Sirius as the adults found out that Draco was not, in fact, invited. But Sirius was looking at the blond, his silver eyes heavily lidded so only a tiny sliver of silver could be seen beneath his dark lashes, he took a sip from his goblet as Draco lifted his head and sent a glare at Sirius, hot enough to sear the air, but Sirius merely smiled benignly. Finally Draco was dragged off again by Severus, Harry tried to dismiss himself under the pretence of going to the toilet, but Sirius placed his hand on his shoulder and leaned close, his hot breath caressing his ear. "I'll go, Prongslet, stay and have fun."

"But I..."

Sirius shot him a brilliant smile and faded into the crowd. He strode down the corridor, searching empty rooms until...

"Black!"

He turned and saw Malfoy, he looked ruffled and pissed off. Sirius smiled as he was slammed into the wall, a hand at his throat. "Nice to see you too, Cousin."

"Don't give me that! You've been busy drinking and partying when I asked..."

"That's just it though...you _asked_. Asking is not ordering." His voice dropped to a low, husky whisper and he leaned closer to the blond, tipping his head to the side as their lips brushed. "And you know you have to order me, or else I will keep disobeying like a _bad_ puppy." It didn't take much, just the tiniest flick of Sirius' tongue against his lips and Malfoy was kissing him desperately, pushing him into the wall, his hands gripping his robes so tightly Sirius felt a seam tear, he gasped as Draco pulled away and suddenly felt sick, he pushed the feeling aside. He had to get the truth...before he was forced to take this any further.

"Come in here..." Draco muttered roughly, dragging Sirius into a nearby room and throwing him to the floor. Sirius gazed up at him through tangled hair, Malfoy was angry and he needed to take his frustration out on someone. When Draco Knelt before Sirius the dark haired boy closed his eyes.

"Then get it over with." He said softly feeling a hand in his hair, dragging his head back roughly.

"Look at me." Draco hissed.

"No." Sirius muttered.

"Why won't you look at me when I'm fucking you?"

Sirius shook his head and turned away, he was pulled back again. "Please stop..." he muttered, disentangling himself from Draco's hands. "Not today...I..."

"You don't have a choice! You can't disobey...the spell..."

Sirius winced. "Don't! I don't want to...I..." He was grabbed and pushed to the floor, he cracked the back of his head on it and gasped. "Malfoy! Get _off._...!"

"No. I have had enough! Since the moment I saw you at Diagon Alley I wanted you, and now that I finally have you under my power you try and escape back to _him_!" Malfoy pinned Sirius' arms to his side and bent over him, grey eyes met grey and Sirius couldn't stop his stomach from twisting violently as flashes of memories long suppressed resurfaced like bile. He twisted, trying to free himself but anger made Malfoy stronger. "It's always him, isn't it? The glory stealing bastard!"

"Who?" Sirius muttered, momentarily stilled by curiosity.

"Potter! He steals everything that should be mine! The filthy half-blood...Even the Dark Lord seems to hold him in higher regard than me and my family! It's disgusting."

Sirius felt a lick of anger that temporarily obliterated the awful dark memories that spewed forth from the depths of his mind. "Harry potter is a better man than you will ever be! Blood be damned, Malfoy, you are scum!" He hissed the words through his teeth, his fury radiating from him.

Malfoy lifted his hand and slapped Sirius around the face so hard he bit his tongue. "Shut up! You are mine now, Black, no matter what you say you can't go back on your word!"

Sirius went silent, glaring at Malfoy with hatred. "Coward." He whispered, not entirely sure why he was baiting the blond when he was at a disposition. Something seemed to snap inside Draco and he tore open Sirius' robes, and no matter how he struggled and fought Malfoy over powered him.

Hermione walked down the hall, smoothing her hair out as she thanked Merlin for letting her escape the clutches of McLaggen. Then she heard it...a soft noise, almost too quiet to hear. She frowned and saw a door that stood half open, as she moved closer to it and peeked in through the crack she saw something that made her heart jolt into her throat. She saw Sirius lying on the cold stone floor, his hair covering his face, he still wore the remnants of his robes but they were torn, his chest had marks and bruises across his white skin and it rose and fell erratically. Her eyes scanned the room and landed on a blond boy, resettling his own clothing and talking in a rough voice.

"Now, my plan is almost complete, I think I nearly have it down...just one more hurdle and soon the Dark Lord will raise my family and I higher than even Aunt Bella." Draco was saying as he gazed at his reflection in a dusty old mirror that hung on the wall. "I expect you to be there to witness my triumph, of course. My father would be delighted to see you under my power...the infamous Sirius Black..." He laughed softly, smoothing hair back from his face. "Of course, I would gladly deliver you into the Dark Lords hands myself, I only hope he would grant me the use of your body while he works out what magic you used to return yourself to this state. Not that I'm one to complain, mind...I must say I find you most...intriguing." Draco turned and looked down at Sirius who was gazing up at the ceiling with wide, blank eyes, he frowned as he watched a single tear slide down his bloody cheek. "You look a disgrace...clean yourself up before I see you again, I will not have any of my possessions looking like trash. Understand?" Sirius said nothing, until Malfoy kicked him in the side, he bared his teeth and curled in on himself with a groan that sounded more like a sob. "Well?"

"I-I...I understand..." He croaked, voice cracked and broken. Slowly he lifted his head and pushed himself up onto his arms. "You're just like your father." He whispered, more clear liquid running down his cheeks.

"Of course I am." Malfoy said proudly.

Sirius looked at his hands, which shook, he clenched them into fists. "He raped me too." He muttered with a small frown creasing his brow. "I-I'd forgotten...pushed it to the back of mind...but now I..." He chuckled softly, a horrible, chilling dead sound.

"That's why you never wanted to look at me?" Draco replied, his voice dropping. "Because my father..."

Sirius nodded slowly. "He did it while I was...at home and...he was drunk. It was the night before he married Narcissa, tradition said that he couldn't have her until his wedding night so he took me instead...My father said t-that was alright, I don't think my mother knew about it...he said that I was gay anyway, what difference would it make? He told him I'd enjoy it but...but he wasn't...he wasn't James..."

Draco suddenly looked unsure, he gazed down at Sirius as he confessed all this in that same, blank monotone while he gazed at his hands. He looked and disgust and fear crossed his face quickly, he took a breath before he walked away.

Hermione ran down the corridor and hid behind a suite of armour as Malfoy strode to the door, but she couldn't miss his parting words...they rang in the silence as clear as day; "T-The Dark L-Lord wants Dumbledore d-dead."

Sirius said nothing as Malfoy left him alone, sitting on the cold hard floor and gazing at his hands. He took a sharp breath, breathing in the scent of Malfoy that still clung to him like a second skin, he gagged but managed not to vomit as he dragged himself to his feet, shaking violently...he had to get out and wash...he couldn't stand it any longer. He had what he needed...he had his gift for Harry. He tried to make it to the door but stumbled, catching himself on a table with a gasp as pain rocketed through his body. He closed his eyes, hoping that Harry was still at the party and wouldn't be back until Sirius had washed every last trace of Malfoy from his body, he could feel the wet stickiness that trailed down his thighs and had to swallow hard a few times, gulping in air in a desperate attempt to prevent himself from throwing up.

He didn't hear the door open or the soft sound of feet crossing the deserted room. He only felt a soft arm on his shoulders and a soft voice in his ear. "It's alright, we'll...we'll get you to Madam Pomfrey a-and g-get you cleaned up..."

Sirius opened his eyes and shook his head, stepping away from Hermione. His eyes were huge in his face with fear. "What...what are you...? No...No...he didn't do anything I..."

"Sirius, it's ok. I can help...We just need..."

"No!" Sirius fell into a table with a soft gasp. He trembled violently. "No...I-I don't need help...He didn't do anything! He didn't. I swear he didn't. I-It was...It's not what you..." He looked at her; hair in a tangled mess around his white face, eyes sparkling with terror, his chest covered in scratches and bruises and his robes torn. He looked so broken, so defeated Hermione had to look away. "No one can know." He gasped finally, grabbing her suddenly by the arms and shaking her slightly. "Promise me, Hermione! Never, ever speak a word of this to anyone! Do you understand?"

"B-But..." He shook her again, his grip tight on her upper arms until she felt herself nodding, unable to deny that horrible fear. He slowly began to relax.

"No one needs to know...nothing happened..." He muttered distractedly, finally releasing her. "Harry must never, ever know."

"O-Ok...b-but what about...?" She indicated his wounds.

Sirius looked down at himself and shuddered, wrapping his arms around his chest protectively. Suddenly he fell to the floor, lowering his head to hide his face. "Malfoys...I fucking _hate_ them!" He sobbed.

Harry was asleep by the time Sirius returned after taking a long hot bath and scrubbing his skin raw. He had healed all trace of his injuries until there was no evidence left of Draco's hands on his skin. When he entered the dorms he saw Harry's bed curtains open, the boy himself lay sprawled across the mattress and sleeping deeply. Sirius went to him and knelt at his side, watching Harry sleep and mutter softly, when he lifted his hand to brush hair from his face he withdrew it quickly. "G'night Harry..." He whispered instead and withdrew to his own bed where he was plagued by nightmares of blond hair, cold, rough hands and terrible agony.

The next day he woke later than the others, he found the common room empty but when he decided to go down to the great hall to look for Harry and his friends he was stopped by the very boy he was looking for. Harry stood at the portrait hole, Hermione at his back looking terrified. With one glance Sirius knew she had told Harry everything. He stepped back, face clouding with emotion. "H-Harry..." He whispered hoarsely.

Harry licked his lips slowly, his green eyes dark. "Why?" He muttered, frowning slightly. When Hermione had told him, in a deserted corridor she had had to restrain him from hunting Malfoy down and cursing him into oblivion. He was furious, but not as furious as he was with Sirius. "Why would you let him do that to you?" He muttered, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

Sirius turned on Hermione, his anger almost palatable. "You told him!" He hissed softly, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I asked you not to!"

"I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry..." Hermione trembled and tears filled her eyes. "I had to Sirius! I couldn't let you be hurt!"

"This has nothing to do with you! You should have stayed out of what does not concern you!" Sirius felt his fury rise, until it choked him. "Do you know what its like?" He said suddenly. "Do you know what its like to be rendered so helpless? To have your pride, your self-respect ripped from you? Well?"

"Sirius, this isn't her fault!" Harry snapped suddenly, regaining Sirius' attention. "I want to understand why you didn't fight? You have your wand, you're more magically powerful than him! So why?"

Sirius bit down on his lower lip. "For you." He whispered. "Always for you...Harry...You wanted to know what Draco was up to...you wanted to know and I...I got the information."

Harry was momentarily stunned into silence, the only sound was Hermione's soft sobs from his side. "But...I...I never wanted...Sirius, he _raped_ you!"

Sirius flinched violently, taking a step backwards. "No." He said firmly. "No...he didn't." He shook his head, denying it desperately as if he could make it untrue.

"I-I heard you...you said no..." Hermione said quietly. "Please, we only want to-..." She never got to finish her sentence, with a sudden scream, like a wounded animal, Sirius collapsed, clutching his head.

Pain shot through him, destroying all thought, all memory until he was nothing but searing agony. He could hear muffled voices, full of terror as darkness swept over him...


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: Hey there, another chapter. This one comes from an idea given to me by a J.F.C, thank you for the idea! :) I apologise for all those who feel as if I'm being extra cruel to poor Siri, but even in Canon it's blatantly obvious he never had a happy life, except with James, Peter and Remus...I just embellish that. Anyways, enjoy and keep reviewing the ones I have so far have made me extremely happy, I cannot tell you how much they have made me smile and I am even happier that I am giving you all so much joy. (FYI: The Italics in the first part of this chapter are Memory.)_

_**We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.- Kenji Miyazawa**_

_Sirius sat on his bed as the door opened to reveal a very drunk Orion and an even worse Lucius. Both men stared at him, their grey eyes cold and hard, Lucius smiled slyly. "Are you sure about this Orion?" He asked, swaying slightly where he stood._

_Orion took one look at his eldest son and sneered in disgust. "Do what you will...he's a filthy Bloodtraitor and no son of mine. Besides, he's gay already, I am sure he will enjoy it."_

"_He does look a little like her..." Lucius muttered, slowly moving forward._

_Sirius frowned. "I'm not gay!" He said defensively. "And what are you doing in my room?"_

"_Shut it boy!" Orion snapped furiously, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "You are so useless at everything your mother is convinced you're a squib, much to our shame...the least you can do is provide some menial entertainment for your cousins betrothed. Now, shut up and spread your legs like a good little whore and be thankful Lucius here is willing to touch you because no one else ever will..." _

_Sirius' eyes widened in shock, his mouth fell open. "Y-You...are you...? No! No...I won't let him...Father...!" He made to stand but Lucius grabbed his arm, pushing him back onto the bed. "Get the fuck off of me!" He shouted and began struggling violently as hands tried to divest him of his clothing. He didn't see Lucius raise his hand, but he felt pain explode in the side of his face and blood fill his mouth, he gasped and went still, gazing at his father who stood at the door, stroking his moustache. "F-Father..." He whispered. "Why?"_

"_Why? You ask why? Your mother has done nothing but weep since the day you were sorted into Gryffindor! You have been nothing but a burden and a shame upon this entire house...You are lazy, stupid and your magical skills are pathetic! Your brother is worth ten thousand of you and so the only thing you're really good at is this...now, please him before he marries your cousin and maybe you may have some worth." He walked away leaving his son to the mercy of Lucius Malfoy. Sirius turned his head slowly to gaze up into those cold grey eyes, his hands shook as he tried to push Malfoy off of him, and when he went for his wand there was a bang and he felt heat sear his cheek as the spell opened up the skin, blood spattered the sheets and he stilled as his wand was ripped from his limp fingers and thrown away. _

"_No more fighting, Black...I'll have my way with you, because your cousin is too precious to be treated like this." He smiled evilly and watched Sirius struggle weakly as he pinned his arms above his head. "Now now, keep struggling and it will hurt even worse."_

"_No...no please...I-I don't...I don't want this..." Sirius muttered frantically._

"_What you want has no bearing on me, boy...you like it don't you? Your father told me you like to let that skinny little friend of yours take you...Is that not so?" Lucius leaned down, grinning maliciously._

"_No." Sirius whispered. "It's not like that! James is...he-he...he's different! He needs me...He likes me! Please stop!"_

"_Don't be ridiculous, Black, no one will ever like you...you are attractive, yes, but how can anyone ever develop feelings for a pathetic, stupid Squib, hmm?" He grinned when Sirius stopped moving, he lay on his side, trapped by Lucius' arms on either side of his head as he curled himself determinedly into a very tight ball. _

He's right. _Sirius thought as cold hands slipped beneath his t-shirt. _James doesn't love me...he wants Evans...no one will ever love me..._ He let himself be rolled onto his back, Lucius' hands now sliding down his chest and into his jeans, he lay there, looking up at the ceiling and swallowing his fears. He was useless...his father had always told him so, in fact, the whole family thought him to be useless. He had always got reasonable grades in his lessons, but Evans had always been there to outshine him and when he tried to work magic at home, his father or mother would scream at him and he would lose his concentration. _

_The entire experience was agony, his body ached as Lucius held him down and moved roughly. He tried to close his eyes but was told to leave them open, so he lay still, letting Malfoy look into his eyes as he used him._

"What's wrong with him?"

Sirius could hear the voices, but seemed incapable of movement or sound, so he lay still and listened.

"We are not entirely sure Harry, we have been forced to contact the Ministry, there was no helping it. Only an Unspeakable will have studied Time enough to perhaps discover what is wrong."

"B-But..."

"Harry I promise you that I will do everything I can to keep him safe, do you understand?"

There was silence so Sirius assumed he must have nodded. When the silence continued Sirius tried to move his arm, it was as if he had been filled with lead and it was slow work to simply get his fingers to move.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"W-What will...what will happen? I mean, if the Ministry do take him?"

There was a sigh from Dumbledore. "I believe that they will wish to discover how he managed to pass into the future, they will test him...I do not know how, but they may assume he has strange new powers..."

"But he doesn't...he's just Sirius..." Harry replied.

"We know this, but they will not be convinced until-..." Dumbledore was cut off as the doors slammed open revealing the Minister for Magic himself, followed by two Auror's. "Why, Mr. Scrimgeour, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Dumbledore said calmly. Sirius felt a tingle of fear in his stomach and began desperately trying to move his body.

"Dumbledore, I apologise for dropping in like this but our situation is grave..." He paused as Sirius began working his wrists, trying to make himself feel something.

"Harry is trustworthy, Rufus." Dumbledore said politely.

"Very well..." His voice was tight. "We have had to release Lucius Malfoy from Azkaban..."

"What?" Harry gasped.

"Come, Rufus, shall we discuss this somewhere else?" Dumbledore said quietly.

At the name Malfoy Sirius managed to force his eyes open and he found himself staring up at the ceiling of the Hospital Wing, quickly he struggled to sit up. "Sirius!" Harry moved to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah..." Sirius rasped, he looked over at Dumbledore and the Minister. He blinked slowly. "Malfoy's out?" he asked roughly, swinging his legs out of bed. "Why?"

Rufus looked uncomfortable. "Someone misplaced the witness statements and testimonies...his trial was thrown out due to lack of evidence...we have not even been able to question him properly using Veriteserum."

Sirius' tongue darted out and licked his lips. "This is...to do with me...isn't it?" He rasped, clearing his throat with a wince.

"It is." Rufus strode forward and thrust a piece of parchment at Sirius. "We had no choice, boy, Malfoy's are a powerful family, Death Eaters or no."

Sirius gazed at the white wax seal and swallowed the lump in his throat, slowly he pulled open the letter and began reading its contents.

"What does it say?" Harry asked, moving to Sirius' side. He reached out to place a hand on his shoulder but Sirius shook his head and looked up.

"The Malfoy's want custody of me." He said in a hoarse whisper. "And it looks like they're going to get it..." He sighed and crumpled the paper in his fist. "Narcissa is my cousin, she has every right to file for my custody...and I'm not old enough to refuse."

"But...but...how...?" Harry glanced at the Minister and saw him shrug.

Dumbledore frowned down at the letter for a long time before speaking. "Minister, we must do everything in our power to prevent this."

"We can't do a thing, Albus. You know as well as I do that the old laws protect the old families. The boy is a Black and people will expect him to be placed under the guardianship of his relatives. He is the last of a powerful pureblood line, and will need to be protected."

Sirius pulled a disgusted face but said nothing. Harry frowned, looking from one person to the other. "Can't anyone else counter claim?" He said suddenly, thinking of Muggle courts. "I mean, can't someone else try to gain custody...?"

"There isn't anyone..." Sirius began slowly but his expression changed rapidly and he looked up. "Andromeda." He said, eyes wide. "Andromeda Black! She's the eldest, she has more right than Narcissa."

"You mean Tonks' mum?" Harry asked, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, that'd work, wouldn't it?"

"It's worth a try..." The minister said dubiously. "You'll have to contact her."

"Nymphadora is stationed in Hogsmeade, I am sure she will take a message back to her mother." Dumbledore said calmly.

Sirius was kept in for observation and it was a few days before they received more news, Dumbledore came in with a man all in black on his heels. Sirius struggled into a sitting position and watched them both draw closer to his bedside. "Sirius, how do you feel?"

"Fine, I guess. I haven't had another attack for a while...who's this?" He nodded towards the man, he was stooped, a bit like a hunchback and seemed to cling to the shadows as if allergic to the light. His face was pale, and he had an unhealthy look to his pinched skin, his eyes, however, were as blue as summer skies and his hair as grey as steel.

"This man is Hart Smith, an Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries. He has come here to see you and see if he can find out what is wrong."

"Ok." Sirius nodded and Hart Smith stepped closer, inspecting him with narrowed, shrewd eyes.

"Looks healthy enough t'me, 'edmaster." He said, his voice low and rough as if he didn't use it very often. "Stand up, kid and lemme take a gander."

Sirius did as instructed, letting the man draw his wand and sweep it over him, muttering slowly. A gentle tingle ran across his skin but he held still until Hart had finished. "Well?" He asked.

"Hmm...I see...most interesting, most interesting indeed." The man was looking at Sirius with the kind of fascination a scientist would have when he discovered some new Molecule. "'e's perfectly healthy, Dumbledore." He said, turning to the Headmaster.

"I see...then why do you think he is having these headaches and visions?"

"Because 'is body was adjustin'. He's not from our time, so 'is body was needin' a bit o' fine tunin' so ta speak." He gave Sirius a glance. "There aint no way to send 'im back, 'edmaster, 'e's stuck fer good."

Sirius sat down suddenly, his fingers twisting the blanket beneath him. "I-I'll...never get to go back?" He asked slowly.

"Tha's what I said."

That night Sirius waited until the lamps had been turned down and night descended before sliding silently out of bed and slipping on a dressing gown, he snuck from the Hospital Wing as quietly as a cat, glancing behind him every so often. When he reached the doors he pushed them open, wincing as they squeaked a little, but after checking once more for any sign he had been spotted he slipped easily out into the Entrance hall. His bare feet curled up on the cold stone but he ignored it as he wandered through the silent castle, the familiar walls and passage ways giving him some comfort as he felt his chest clench painfully. He would never again feel James' lips, he would never again see him smile or hear his laugh...he closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

He had no idea where he was going, he just needed to get away, to hide himself in the familiarity of his only real home, to comfort himself with the rough stone beneath his fingers and the cool breeze sweeping in from the grounds. Without thought of where his feet were taking him he found himself back in the Entrance Hall, he gazed at the huge front doors and made his way towards them, gently he pushed them open, finding them unlocked. He stepped into the grounds and began slowly making his way across the dew soaked grass towards the faint silhouette of Hagrid's hut. The forest loomed out of the gloom as he left the light of the castle behind, the wind was chill as it blew off of the surrounding mountains and whipped his hair around his face, but he could easily ignore it. He trotted across the grass, slipping silently past Hagrid's hut like a shadow amongst shadows until he reached the edge of the forest and the Whomping Willow. With a muttered spell the willow stilled its waving branches and he changed into the form of a dog before running towards the dark hole between the trees roots.

Harry had been sat up in bed, gazing down at his Advanced Potion Making book when he had had the sudden urge to look at the marauders map...he got it out of his trunk and opened it, tapping his wand and muttering the words. He scanned it with a frown and suddenly spotted the tiny dot labelled 'Sirius Black' walking towards the Whomping Willow where he promptly disappeared. Without another though Harry stood, threw on a dressing gown and slippers and the Invisibility Cloak before leaving his sleeping dorm mates.

Sirius sat curled in a corner, his eyes glued to a spot upon the dusty floor that had several deep gouges from claws. He was shivering in the cold as the wind howled around the shack, making the ancient building creak and murmur like a living thing. He was remembering, his head full of boyish laughter, soft whispers of planned excursions as they all sat around in the dark with their wands lit and they told each other scary stories. He could almost hear James recounting a story about a Vampire and a Werewolf when Peter had become so afraid he had turned into his rat form and run up James' sleeve. He remembered sitting against the wall, waiting for the moon to rise with Remus staring out the window, he could feel the atmosphere of love and friendship and the deep bonds they had all shared. Something outside the shack banged loudly, making Sirius blink and straighten, he gazed around and saw Harry climbing from the hole, he looked at Sirius, looking vulnerable as he sat with his back against the wall and his knees drawn to his chest. Dust had settled into his hair, making it look grey in Harry's wandlight, he stepped forward and saw Sirius' feet were bare, his hands had splinters in them and his pyjama's were stained with mud and grass, dirt smudged one cheek and those silver eyes gleamed in the dim light as Harry crouched down. "Are you cold?" He asked and handed Sirius his own dressing gown.

"No...I'm fine." Sirius muttered, gently pushing the garment back into Harry's hand.

"I-Is it the Guardianship thing?" Harry asked as he sat down at Sirius' side, the boy nodded slowly, his face darkening. "Don't worry, Andromeda will make sure Lucius doesn't get you...I'm sure of it."

"No...no she won't. She disgraced herself by Marrying that Ted Tonks...that Muggle. No one will pay attention to her...oh they'll give her a chance to speak, but they won't give her custody. Purebloods, after all, must stick together..." He sighed and ran fingers through his hair, dislodging the dust. "I'll be trapped...like I was before the Potters took me...I was trapped a-and lonely..." He buried his face in his knees. "Harry...I don't...I don't want to be alone again...without James, without Remus...without..." he took a slow breath. "You." He finished in a whisper.


	14. Chapter 14

_AN: I must firstly make my apologies for updating so late! :( I am a bad author and I won't blame you if you resent me, but I haven't been well so I've been unable to write! I know this chapters short but I hope it satisfies you until I can write the next...thank you all so, so much for your kind words, I had never even thought that this fic would be so popular! I am happy beyond words you all gave me so many smiles! Keep them coming and I will hopefully keep you all entertained!_

_**Bad is never good until worse happens. - Danish Proverb**_

Harry returned to the common room after making sure Sirius got back to the Hospital Wing, when he climbed through the portrait hole he found Hermione sitting in one of the armchairs before the fire and working on their latest ream of Homework. When he entered she looked up, blinking sleepily.

"Harry, where have you been?" She asked, stifling a yawn.

Harry sat down opposite her. "I was talking to Sirius."

"How is he?" She straightened and put aside her work.

"As well as he can be with the knowledge he'll end up living with the Malfoy's." He replied bitterly. "There's nothing we can do!"

"There must be, Harry..." Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "We'll just have to look."

"I don't even understand why they would want the guardianship of a Bloodtraitor..."

"Oh Harry..." Hermione shook her head. "Isn't it obvious? Sirius is the last member of the Black household, he's not only got a lot of political weight, but he's got a lot of gold and he's extremely powerful in a magical sense. If they can join him to a member of their family they would stand to inherit everything that is his, and not only would that be a sore blow to the Order having to lose their headquarters, but it would also make them even stronger."

Harry crinkled his nose in confusion. "I don't understand..."

"It's all medieval politics, Harry. They used to join the most powerful houses to secure allegiances and even bring in 'Wards' or hostages to prevent another powerful house from attacking them. Sirius is acting as a ward against the Order, if they have him as a hostage it would limit their movements because they wouldn't want any harm to come to Sirius..."

"Right..." Harry slumped down in his seat, glaring at the flames in the hearth. "So we have to stop this at all costs, right?"

"Yes, because most of the Order would not want to risk Sirius' life and wellbeing...especially Remus. He's already lost him once..." Hermione sighed heavily. "I'll do some research, see if I can't find something in the old laws to undo it."

"Thanks Hermione, you're brilliant."

Hermione smiled.

Sirius was released a few days later, he was given a clean bill of health and a stern warning from Pomfrey concerning his ability to get himself hurt. He returned to the common room only to find it empty of Harry, Ron and Hermione, he sighed and turned up towards the dorms which were deserted. He frowned irritably and left Gryffindor tower, his feet took him through the hall ways, his brain hardly registering where he was going, he simply walked.

"Black."

Suddenly he looked up to find himself face to face with Draco Malfoy, the blond was smirking slightly. "What?" Sirius replied in a monotone.

"I just thought you would be interested to know that Andromeda Tonks has filed her counter claim on your guardianship."

"Good." Sirius replied. "Now get out of my way..."

"You honestly don't think she will actually win do you?" Malfoy's eyes gleamed with amusement. "She's a worse traitor than you! At least you carry yourself as one of pureblood, and haven't married a Mudblood."

"And what if I had? I'm much too young for marriage, Malfoy and even If I did marry, who I marry is of no consequence to you."

"Oh you will marry, be sure of that. My father will see to it..." He smiled as he leaned closer. "Even if they do pair you with some girl, you won't escape me." He chuckled as he walked off, leaving Sirius feeling angry.

He found Harry with Hermione and Ron in the Library, when he sat down at their table they looked up. "Sirius, how are you?" Hermione asked in concern.

"Fine...What are you doing?" He pulled a heavy leather bound tomb towards him and read the title; _The Wizengamot and Family Law. _He raised an eyebrow as he read other titles; _Wizarding Law, The Magical Binding of Law concerning the Old Families, Fostering and Warding Young Wizards, Rights of the Wizarding Family. _"Looks like some heavy reading." He said with a small smile. "But thanks, you don't have to do this for me."

"It's no problem, Sirius, we want you to be happy." Harry said earnestly. "And the Malfoy's won't make you happy..."

"It is boring though, mate...If we get you out of this, I want compensation." Ron muttered while rubbing his eyes. "I don't understand half of what's in these old books and the dust makes me sneeze."

Sirius chuckled and dragged a large tomb towards himself, opening it at the first page and scanning the contents. They spent the rest of the evening in silence, doing nothing but read and take notes until the Library closed, they took useful books with them to common room and continued. Finally, when Ron had fallen asleep Hermione looked up at Sirius. "There is one sure way to get this thing thrown out of court..." She began slowly, Sirius eyed her warily. "You could tell them about the abuse...you could tell them all what Draco did..."

"No!" Sirius gazed at her as if she'd gone insane. "I'd rather end up living with them than have people laughing at me behind my back...and any way, there are no laws protecting pureblood children from abuse..." He shook his head. "The child has no say in these things usually, only when he comes of age and into his own inheritance can he dispute custody, and by then it won't matter. I am not going up against the Malfoy's with accusations of abuse, not when people will just laugh at me..."

"But surely...Sirius, you're just a _child_!" Hermione exclaimed.

Sirius shrugged. "It doesn't matter, I might be heir to the most noble and ancient house of Black, but that doesn't mean I'm head yet. I will turn seventeen in a few months and only then will I be able to escape this nonsense..." he paused and sighed heavily, the book falling from his hands and back onto the table. "But by then it'll be too late...They'll have bound me in some other way. It's all so useless..."

"Don't give up." Harry muttered, clearing his throat from where he hadn't used it in a while. "Sirius, we'll get you out of this...I promise."

Sirius smiled weakly at him. "Thanks."

"Wait...wait a moment..." Hermione was gazing out the window as snow alighted on the sill. "Sirius, when's your birthday?"

"February...why?" Sirius asked with a frown.

Hermione looked at him. "That's only two months away or thereabouts...what if we could delay the case? Delay it until you turn seventeen?"

Sirius considered that for a long time before his eyes lit up. "Brilliant!" He said as a smile split his face. "You are truly the brightest witch of your age, Hermione." He leapt to his feet and began pacing, a small thoughtful frown creasing his brows. "How could we do it...?"

They spent the rest of the night talking about how they could delay the court proceedings, when dawn came they went to bed for the last few hours before they would have to go back to the burrow for Christmas.

The Burrow was covered in a small layer of snow when they arrived, Mrs. Weasley awaited them and greeted them all warmly as she ushered everyone inside.

Christmas Eve found Sirius standing in the snow with his hands shoved deep into his pockets as he gazed up at the white sky, he was considering all that they had discussed on how to prolong the court proceedings, they had yet to come up with any plausible excuse. A soft crunch alerted him to someone's presence, slowly he turned and smiled when he saw Remus walking towards him with his scarf around his neck. He was looking pale and ill, the full moon having only been the night before. "How are you, Remus?" Sirius asked softly as his old friend stopped at his side.

"I'm fine, more concerned about you to be quite honest." He replied.

"I'm alright, well...I'm alive at least." Sirius shrugged as if the impending hearing wasn't costing him sleep as he dreamed of cold hands in the dark.

Remus smiled sadly and looked down at him. "You don't have to lie to me, Sirius. I may not be young but I'm still your best friend."

Sirius cocked his head back with a small smile and stuck his tongue out so a few snow flakes fell onto it. "Harry and Hermione are working on a way to prolong the court hearings..." He said softly.

"But you don't sound too optimistic about the outcome."

Sirius sighed. "I am happy they would want to help me, but it's difficult trying to explain how the system works, they were brought up with completely different laws and they don't understand the sheer power the Malfoy's have. I...I can't tell them it's all futile...I can't make Harry look so sad." He whispered and lowered his head so a fall of ebony hair obscured his face. "Remus, I can't make him unhappy..."

Remus was silent as he looked up at the blank sky, he wore a thoughtful frown. "Sirius are you developing feelings for Harry?" Sirius said nothing, he scuffed his battered converse shoe against the snow covered grass and pushed his cold hands further into his pockets, but Remus didn't seem to need an answer. He sighed. "What will you do if they manage to find a way to send you back to your proper time?" He asked finally.

"I'll...I..." Sirius shook his head quickly, dislodging the white flakes and sending them spraying everywhere. "It won't happen...not now."

"There is always a possibility, Sirius. You're being reckless again...you need to distance yourself, you cannot afford to get too close, not only will you be breaking your own heart but his as well. Your futures run along different paths, you cannot have a relationship."

"It's not...I..." Sirius bit his lip and looked away so he was gazing across the barren hills. "He's James." He whispered, his breath pluming in white steam from his lips. He lifted his hands and shoved them into his hair, once again shaking his head. "He's James but...but he's not James! Remus...I-I'm so confused! Sometimes, when he smiles o-or say's something I think he's James...but then he's _not_! I keep trying to tell myself he's different but when we're together and h-he's...looking at me all I can see is his father! I'm so messed up its stupid!" He kicked a pile of snow so it scattered everywhere. "I don't know what to do anymore! He makes me so happy...I'd die for him! Remus...I'd throw my life away just as I would f-for you or James...b-but...I-I'm so confused when we're together...It hurts...it hurts inside here..." He put his hand on his chest and gazed desperately at the older man as if his face held all the answers.

Remus licked his lips slowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked out across the Burrow's lawn. "Not much has changed in that respect then." He said after a good long silence. "Even when you're an adult you get them confused...I would have to keep reminding you that Harry is not his father, he has his mother in him too. Sometimes..." He sighed heavily. "And don't tell Harry this, but sometimes I would find you looking at Harry in an odd way...the same way you had looked at James. I give you the same warning I gave you then; Harry is his own man, he is not James. If you start confusing them you will hurt him more than anything else would, please, Sirius, I beg you, distance yourself from him before it's too late! This relationship is doomed even before it begins, you will both end up hurt beyond repair and I don't want to have to pick up the pieces not again."

Sirius looked at him through his hair, his silver eyes were dark as he slowly digested Remus' words. "What did I...what happened?" He asked slowly.

Remus moved to the fence and leaned on it. "It was when James had proposed to Lily, he asked you to become his best man and although you agreed you disappeared for a week. James had nearly the whole Order looking for you but it was me who found you...you were curled up in a dingy alley way covered in dirt and surrounded by bottles...when I saw you I thought you were dead. You wouldn't wake up even when I managed to get you home and into the bath, then James came over after you had regained consciousness. You argued...well, you fought...I couldn't do anything even though I tried to stop you from hitting each other. When you finally told him how you really felt James walked away and left you. I was there to hold you but you wouldn't speak. For days you were silent until the wedding and then you seemed to return to normal, but your eyes...Sirius he broke you. You were never the same man after that."

Sirius lifted his head again. "All that because of one stupid confession, huh?" He muttered. "Then I guess that decides it. I'll never speak those words...I won't make that mistake. I'll lock it all away...I-I'll..." He felt something warm trickle down his face and wiped it away. "I'm...crying?" He whispered to himself in shock, his chest ached painfully and his eyes burned. "This is...stupid. I...I should break it off w-with Harry...I-I know I should...It's wrong...what we're doing i-is wrong..." He choked on his words and frowned as he turned his face from Remus who lowered his own so he wouldn't embarrass Sirius. "Remus?" Sirius whispered finally.

"Yes?"

"I should...find a way back...shouldn't I?" He was looking down at his hands, he wore fingerless gloves but he was twisting them in his coat as he warred with his emotions, trying so desperately to get them under control, but he had never been one for control. "Harry is...he makes me happy." He said almost too softly to hear, Remus had to strain to listen to his voice. "When I'm with him it's like...i'll never be sad again...When we're together I can smile, actually smile like I did when James would make some stupid joke or mess up his hair...he makes my chest hurt but it's not a bad feeling. I-I don't...I d-don't want to lose that..."

"Oh Sirius..." Remus sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." He muttered.

Sirius nodded and turned away before trudging hopelessly back up to the burrow.


	15. Chapter 15

_AN: Now then, I must begin my saying I have heard somewhere that Rowling reckoned Sirius' birthday was in October or November, but for the stories sake its Febuary (Even tho he is such a scorpio in my stories! Lol.) Anyways, please enjoy this chapter and your reviews keep me going, thank you so much. :)_

_**You are the clear blue sky, I'm floating so free, so high, Falling with grace, for you, am I, **__**You give me the wings to fly. – The Wings, Gustavo Santaolalla (Brokeback Mountain Theme)**_

Christmas was a warm affair, Mrs Weasley got the children helping with the preparations and every so often the odd member of the Order would drop by. On Christmas Day they had just finished up with food when they received a visit from the Minister for Magic, he looked haggard and older than he had since they had last seen him, his face was grim as he asked Sirius to accompany him outside.

"Things are going badly with this custody claim, you're expected in court the day after boxing day." He said when they reached the garden. Sirius nodded. "You will be asked to watch, there's no giving an opinion, you being a minor and all."

"I understand." Sirius replied softly, he kicked at a gnome that had scurried out from behind a bush. "So, I'm going to end up in the hands of the Death Eaters..." He sighed.

"There's nothing the Ministry can do, boy."

"I know." Sirius smiled bitterly. "Merlin...I was better off in my own time."

"Hmm."

That evening Sirius sat on his bed reading by candle light, Harry was downstairs with the Weasley's but Sirius had feigned tiredness and gone up to bed first, hoping to be able to fake sleep when Harry came to bed. The book was one of muggle children's stories that Hermione had given him for Christmas after he had expressed his love of Fairy Tales. He was reading about a girl called Cinderella whose father had died and she had been left with her wicked step mother who forced her to do chores and act a slave, there were two evil step sisters who would laugh and poke fun at her. Sirius decided he liked this story, he could relate to the poor enslaved girl, bullied and subjected to horrible abuse all because she was beautiful and those around her were jealous. He frowned as he read wondering if his family had treated him badly because they had been jealous of him, then he chuckled at the thought, it would have been nice if that had been the case, but he had nothing for them to be jealous over. He continued to read, absorbed in the fantastical lands where every ending was happy and regretted that his life would not end happily, happy endings were for princesses with handsome men who could come rescue them from their plight, it was the stuff of dreams and childish innocence...he had no innocence left.

He turned a page and realised he was squinting as the candle had burned low, he blinked and yawned widely.

"You look exhausted."

The voice made Sirius jump and drop his book, it landed on the floor and Harry bent to pick it up, he read the title of the story and chuckled before setting the book to one side. Sirius flushed. "I like them...they make me happy." He muttered and drew his knees to his chest and looked up at Harry through his hair.

"I used to like fairy tales too..." Harry sat down on Sirius' bed. "I used to wish I had some kind of fairy godmother who would come to me one day and tell me I was actually a prince who had been kidnapped by an evil witch, she would tell me that my parents were searching for me and she would take me home to them..." He sighed and ran fingers through his messy hair. "Stupid, I know...but I was a kid with too much imagination and locked in a tiny cupboard most of my life." He smiled and Sirius couldn't help but return it.

"It's not stupid...I used to wish someone would come along and kill my whole family...your wish is much nicer." His smile went wonky and he giggled slightly. "I'm a guy and reading fairy tales..."

Harry joined his laughter but it soon trailed off and they were staring at each other intently, Sirius found himself drowning in those twin green pools as Harry leaned closer he tried to pull away. "W-Wait...Harry..." but when Harry's lips met his own he gave in too quickly, before he knew it he was kissing back. Harry pushed him back onto the camp bed and deepened the kiss, Sirius willingly parted his lips to accept the questioning tongue. He wrapped his arms tightly around Harry's neck and drew him closer, one of them groaned but neither could tell who made the noise. They were too involved in their kiss to notice that the door had opened, they didn't even hear the shocked splutter of noise. It wasn't until the door banged shut that they broke apart, Harry sat up going crimson as his eyes widened when they alighted on Ron.

The silence was horrible, Sirius covered his face with his arms and swore under his breath. Harry bit his lower lip, gazing at his best friend with wide eyes full of fear. Ron gaped at them both, unable to form a coherent sentence until finally he took a deep, shuddery breath and expelled it in a rush, his race was red and his ears even redder. "What in Merlin's name were you two doing? Are you drunk?"

"Ron...please, it's...it's complicated..." Harry muttered, his hand going to his head as he bowed it. "We didn't mean for you to find out..."

"So you weren't going to tell your best mate that you're...you're doing...stuff...with your father's freind? How long has this been happening! God! It's disgusting!" Ron's look of horror was only equalled by Harry's look of dismay. "You're both guys for starters, and he's...oh...oh...no...you weren't..." Ron shook his head rapidly. "Harry...were you and older Sirius...?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Don't be a prat Ron! I'm not that perverted! He was my Godfather...like a brother..."

Ron pulled a face as if he didn't believe Harry at all. "I saw the way he looked at you at Grimmauld place...I thought it was the light, it was so bloody dark in that place...but now...Harry, if he touched you..."

"Fucking hell Ron!" Harry snapped furiously, his eyes glittering behind his glasses. "He was more of a father figure to me then, why would we ever...he never touched me! He never saw me like that! I was fifteen and he was thirty six! What do you take me for?"

"I don't know anymore..." Ron looked at Sirius who had remained silent throughout the exchange. "You know my sister likes you." He spoke to Harry, though his eyes remained on Sirius. "Ginny's always liked you...since you rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets..." He looked back at Harry, his anger was palatable. "You'll break her heart."

Harry was silent for a moment before frowning again. "I never liked your sister, not in that way! Ginny's like my own little sister...like family! I don't want to hurt her but I can't see her in any other way."

"No, obviously not...never took you for a queer."

"I'm not..."

"Oh, so I imagined you snogging another bloke then, did I?" Ron snarled. "How many other times have you done it? And what about _him_..." He pointed at Sirius who had sat up and was gazing at Ron from cold silvery eyes. "How many people has he been...snogging? It's disgusting! You're both men!"

"I've only ever been interested in Sirius in that way!" Harry snapped, his fingers curling into fists. "I thought you of all people would be more open minded..."

"How is this acceptable? Harry, Wizards don't look too kindly on this...this kind of thing. It's simply not done...you'd just end up attracting more bad press..."

"I know." Sirius muttered, running fingers through his hair almost absently. "I'm sorry, It won't happen again. It's my fault...It's fine, we haven't done anything besides kiss so long as you don't tell anyone, nothing else will happen. I promise." He avoided Harry's gaze and looked directly into Ron's eyes.

Ron eyed him suspiciously for a moment before finally nodding. "A-Alright...just leave my mate alone."

"Of course, we wouldn't want Harry hurt." Sirius watched Ron climb into bed awkwardly, he refused to meet Harry's eyes, he didn't want to see the pain there, he didn't want to know he had hurt him. He curled up on his side as Ron blew out the candle and plunged them into darkness.

That night he dreamed of James at eleven years old building snow castles in Hogwarts grounds, but then the sky darkened as if some huge bird had blotted out the sun. He watched James look up in terror as the world was filled with green flames and Sirius' head was filled with James' screams, but he was frozen to the spot...he was only a snowman, he had no legs and couldn't help him. He could only watch James scream and burn...and as he turned to look into Sirius' eyes he realised that they weren't hazel after all...they were as green as emeralds.

The next day Sirius walked around the burrow and hid himself behind the chicken coop, he sank shakily to the floor as he fought the heart choking urge to scream. At breakfast he had had to endure Harry's pain, he had got the message clear enough and that awful, broken look in his eyes had sent Sirius running for the bathroom to throw up. He couldn't hold down any food, his hands shook almost constantly as he felt Harry's pain along with his own. He sat by the coop, hearing the chickens clucking sleepily from inside as he rocked back and forth slightly, forcing his tears away, but they fell down his cheeks anyway to splash into the half melted snow. He was left breathless as he tipped his head back and looked up at the cloudy sky, the snow had stopped falling but it was cold, icy cold. His cheeks burned along with his eyes, his throat was tight and his chest ached, he had never known pain like it...it made him want to hit something hard, it made him wish he didn't exist. He closed his eyes and wished for oblivion, but he had never heard anywhere that wishing yourself dead actually worked so he gave it up.

"There you are Sirius!"

He looked up to see Hermione trudging through the snow towards him, when she saw him wiping his eyes furiously on his sleeve she knelt beside him and handed him a hanky, he took it with a nod of thanks. "Ron told me what he saw." She said softly, settling herself at his side. "Harry hasn't spoken a word...Sirius, I know you don't want to hear this, but you did a good thing. To break it off now before it can go any further means that you'll both be able to get on with your lives. You might still be able to go back..."

"I don't want to." Sirius muttered, sniffing slightly as he followed some Gnome footprints through the snow with his eyes. "I never want to be apart from Harry...even if...even if I never touch him again...being away from him...it's like losing a part of myself and I can't live like that. If I can just be close enough to watch, to look after him I'll be happy."

"No...you won't." Hermione sighed. "To be close to him and watch him move on will be more painful than this, you know it will."

"I need to protect him...I _need_ to make him happy! I want to see him smile Hermione! I love it when he smiles...it's like sunshine." He looked at her with wide eyes, his voice conveying his earnestness. "I don't care much about myself, so long as I have some reason for being alive...that's all I want. A reason for living and I know, I just _know_ Harry's that reason! He's everything to me...and I swore, when he said he needed me, I swore I'd do anything for him! If he told me to throw myself in front of an Avada Kedavra I'd do it without hesitation for him...Hermione, I can't live without this. If that's taken away then...then I'll just shrivel up and fade away or go mad...whichever, it won't be pretty."

When Hermione looked at him she realised that he was right, Sirius needed someone to live for, he needed to know he was needed and wanted just like other people needed air to breath. His life would be made meaningless without that one person he could devote his entire being to, he was so loyal he would rip off his own hand rather than see that person hurt or sad...and now he had been forced to hurt Harry and he was ripping himself to shreds inside. But then she knew that wasn't healthy, she knew that was far from love as she thought of it, Love was supposed to be innocent and pure and full of affection, what Sirius had was darker, stronger and much more intense...but was it any less real? She bit her bottom lip before sighing. "Alright." She said, standing and dusting her clothes off. "Let's see if we can't fix this."

Sirius gazed at her proffered hand as if it was covered in eyes, but he finally took it and stood. His smile was shaky but it was still a smile._****_

They found Harry sitting by the window and gazing out across the countryside, Ron was chatting away oblivious to his friends melancholy, when the door opened and Sirius and Hermione walked in Ron's eyes narrowed but he held his tongue. "I think Sirius and Harry need to talk, Ron, come with me into the garden." She dragged a protesting Ron away and closed the door behind her.

There was silence as Harry avoided Sirius' eyes, he couldn't look at him without feeling angry and hurt. He had no idea what to say or what he should be feeling, his emotions were confused. He also had no idea where he stood with Sirius anymore.

Finally the silence became too much and Sirius spoke. "I'm sorry." He said, his eyes burning into the back of Harry's head as he willed him to turn around and look at him so he could perhaps gain some kind of hint as to what the other was thinking.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"For telling Ron what I did...I shouldn't have said anything. Harry...I..." He bit his lower lip and stepped closer, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Harry interrupted him. "What are we?" He asked quietly, scrunching himself up in a ball with his knees against his chest. "To each other? Would we be called a couple or...what?"

Sirius moved closer. "I don't know...I've never thought about anything like that. You make me stupid." He said it quickly and Harry turned with a raised eyebrow and a barely suppressed smile.

"I make you what?"

"You make me stupid, Prongslet." Sirius said, smiling slightly as he leaned closer. "I'm a naturally reckless person, but when I'm with you I want to make you happy at any cost...I like your smile. It's...it's not like James'...James' smile has always been slightly sadistic, but yours is so...so innocent and I like that much better."

Harry's smile suddenly broke free as he giggled. "You are a prat, Sirius."

He shrugged and ran fingers through his hair. "So everyone keeps telling me, but I never take any notice, if you want I could change..." He moved even closer and put a hand on Harry's leg and gazing at him with those big silver eyes, eyes that were almost too child-like. "I would do it you know, for you. No one else would make me change...not even James...But you, I'd become a totally different person if you wanted. Tell me what you want, Harry and I'll do it. I'll walk to the ends of the earth and bring you back a jewel encrusted dragon egg! Just name it and I'll do it." He watched for Harry's reaction with eager eyes, and when Harry shook his head his face fell slightly until Harry closed the gap between them and kissed him.

"I don't want anything from you Sirius..." He said softly, pressing his forehead to Sirius'. "I want you to be yourself, to be happy...I like your smile too."

Something flickered behind Sirius' eyes, he gazed at Harry as if seeing him for the first time. "You're not James..." He gasped suddenly, his hands shook slightly. "You're not James at all...You're...You're _Harry_..." Suddenly a smile spread across his face, it was a beautiful thing devoid of his usual cunning and mischievous humour, it was the smile of a boy. His eyes sparkled and before either of them could think they were kissing, their tongues tangling and soft groans emanating from them both. The kiss was different, it was filled with more emotion and Sirius was smiling as they kissed, the smile that refused to leave his face. "Fucking hell I've been so stupid!" Sirius gasped as Harry slipped from the window and pushed him roughly to the bed. "So...so stupid..." He whispered Harry's name between kisses, fumbling with his clothes as he slipped Harry's jumper over his head. "It's you...it's been you since the...mm...moment I saw you..."

"What are you talking about?" Harry had stopped kissing Sirius long enough to stare at him as if he'd gone insane.

Sirius grinned. "I thought that I was confusing you with your father, I thought that I was only falling for you because of your father...but that's wrong. James is turning into you...in my head...I-I think I..."

Harry cut him off with a kiss. "Don't care..." He whispered, nipping at his lip as he struggled to remove Sirius' jeans. "Want...you...naked..." He punctuated each word with a kiss and Sirius obliged. Harry had no need to hear what Sirius was going to say, because he knew that look, he knew already...because he felt exactly the same.

The bed creaked beneath them as they moved together, their fingers were entwined and their bodies pressed so close it was difficult to know where one began and the other ended. Sirius gazed up into Harry's green eyes and let himself drown in them, all thoughts of court cases and guardianship forgotten in favour of a desperate clawing passion that made him want nothing more than to give Harry the world, _his_ world. Harry was so gentle, his fingers brushing his skin his eyes burning almost too brightly in the gloom. Sirius tried to be quiet but when Harry moved his hips he had to cover his own mouth with his hand as he threw his head back into the pillow, Harry covered his mouth with his own and kissed him deeply. They swallowed each other's moans, they sank themselves into sensation until all they could see was each other.

Later they lay beside each other, Sirius resting his head on Harry's chest as he fought off a deep, satisfied sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

_AN: So, just re-read my previous chapter and I was sick a little... :/ Honestly I cannot abide writing soppy fluff...but it was only a little and I'm glad you seemed to like it even if I didn't, lol. So, the Guardianship over young Sirius Black approaches... :O More suitable angst and we get to see deeper into my favourite Marauders psyche, is he all that Harry seems to think he is?_

_**"Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it." - **__**Winston Churchill**_

The Courtroom was circular, the walls grey stone and rough with torches sputtering and making the shadows dance. Sirius stood in the benches with Dumbledore at his side, Harry had wanted to come but he had been refused, to have him at such a high profile court case would draw attention to him and would endanger him and so Sirius' only consolation was Dumbledore. The Wizengamot were hard looking men and women, old and young and of varying blood-status. Sirius chewed his bottom lip nervously and felt a hand on his arm, he looked at Dumbledore who nodded reassuringly, yet Sirius couldn't share his feelings...they never had been able to delay the proceedings and he knew he would end up in the clutches of Dark Wizards and probably used in abominable ways, he closed his eyes briefly and crossed his fingers beneath his school robes.

The Minister stood and silence fell in the room. "Welcome all of you, you are here today to witness the claims of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy and Andromeda Tonks on the Guardianship of Sirius Orion Black the third. The Wizengamot will begin by hearing the statements of each claimant...begin." He sat back down as Lucius stood forward looking as smooth and cool as ever in black and silver robes, his white blond hair smoothed back from his icy grey eyes.

Before he began he looked up to where Sirius sat, Sirius refused to allow any emotion onto his face but he felt a cold shiver down his spine. "Thank you Minister..." Lucius said with a low, sycophantic bow. "I believe that the Malfoy family is best suited for dear Sirius' guardianship because we are very closely related, for generations our two great and noble families have joined in marriage and have continued both great lines through our children. My wife is indeed his cousin as well, and she was very close to his dearly departed mother." Sirius bit his tongue almost hard enough to draw blood to prevent himself from screaming at him, he had hated his mother, he still hated her, alive or dead she was a bane on his existence. "We believe that under our devoted care he would prosper and be taught proper Wizarding pride, we would prepare him for the world and give him everything that is within our power to give. I remind you that my very own son attends Hogwarts with Sirius and would provide a great comfort for him in this most trying time."

In the brief silence that followed Sirius realised he wasn't breathing, he took a sharp breath and lowered his head so he didn't have to look into Lucius'. He closed his own and waited.

"Very well, next claimant is Mrs Andromeda Tonks, formally Black...step forward."

Andromeda resembled her sister Bellatrix, her eyes were heavily lidded and dark, her hair piled atop her head as she strode forward with easy grace. She held her head high even though Sirius was sure she could feel Narcissa's hatred as much as he. "I do not have much to say except that if you allow my cousin to be placed into the hands of known Death Eaters with the Dark Lord himself on the loose you would make yourselves no better than murderers and child slavers. Sirius and I have always been close, when he was a child I would offer as much meagre protection as I could from his insane mother, I would be there for him after she had flayed his back and it would be I who would heal his wounds and sing him to sleep. If you wish to see him return to such torture and imprisonment then I hope you can live with your guilt! Yes, I betrayed my family's pureblood pride, and I did so gladly knowing what insanity comes from inbreeding. Ted is my husband, we have raised one daughter already who has gone on to join your ministry as an Auror, she was tutored by Alastor Moody himself and she has shown great promise. If that is not a good enough reason to place the boy in my care then I do not know what else I can say that will change your hearts and minds. All I will add is; do you not think he has suffered enough at the hands of madness?"

Sirius gazed at her with wide eyes, when she met his gaze her smile was sad and he returned it. He hadn't seen her in such a long time that he had difficulty fighting back the horrible memories that flooded his head, the screams of his mother, the pain, the constant feeling of uselessness and despair...he shook his head as Andromeda returned to her seat. Sirius bent his head and buried his fingers in his hair as he rested his elbows on his knees, he thought of Harry.

"The Wizengamot will adjourn to discuss what we have heard." The minister raised a gavel and slammed it down on the desk, everyone began standing and chattering.

Sirius followed Dumbledore out into the corridor where the claimants were seated, immediately he was accosted by Andromeda. She swept over to him, ignoring her sister as she embraced him tightly, stroking hair from his eyes as she inspected him with narrowed eyes. "Sirius, are you alright?"

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine 'Dromeda."

"Thank Merlin for small mercies." Pity entered her gaze and she sighed. "It's been so long...when I heard you had returned and so much younger...I was surprised...your face brings back so many memories..." She smiled gently at him. "Don't worry, Sirius, we'll help you...I will do everything in my power to help..."

"Thank you..." Sirius' eyes moved to the Malfoy's standing by the door and he looked quickly away.

"Tonks told me everything that had happened, it must be strange for you to see her all grown up when last you saw of her she was a baby."

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, tell me about it! She was little and fat with constantly changing hair...and she pulled mine so hard she ripped a chunk out..." He wrinkled his nose at the memory. "Now she's older than me! Hard thing getting used to that..."

Andromeda's smile made him feel calmer and safer, he had always relied on her for protection against the wrath of his parents, until she had married and moved away.

When it was time to return to the courtroom Sirius stood but felt his arm grabbed in a vice-like grip, he was yanked away from the doors and slammed roughly into a wall. Lucius gazed down at him with a triumphant smirk. "You think that the Wizengamot will decide to give you to Andromeda the bloodtraitor? You are sorely mistaken, Black. I will have you because it is the Dark Lord's will and what he wants he gets...He has many pets within the Ministry boy, so do not get so cocky."

Sirius was released and pushed roughly into the courtroom, when he looked up again at the Wizengamot and saw the Ministers grim expression his heart sank and he hung his head. He walked up to his seat and sat down, staring at his feet blankly. He barely even heard the rest of the hearing, they pulled up witnesses to help them finalise their decisions, people who would confirm that the Malfoy's had a stable home or Andromeda had suitable parenting skills...on and on it went, little more than white noise until the Minister banged his tiny gavel.

"The Wizengamot has reached its verdict." He boomed, his voice echoing right up into the ceiling. "We have voted and the majority decision lies with the Malfoy's. Sirius Orion Black, you are hereby given over to the Malfoy family until such time as you turn Seventeen and can decide your own future and come into your inheritance, if by some mischance you die before you come of age all your inheritance will go to your named next of kin. This hearing is at its end, dismissed." He banged the gavel again and Sirius tasted bile in the back of his throat, he couldn't move. He was frozen to the chair even as Dumbledore began trying to gain his attention by shaking his shoulder gently, it wasn't until Malfoy reached his side that he looked up.

"Come." He commanded. "I will have the Weasley's send your things to the Manor, you will not be returning." Sirius slowly got to his feet and stumbled on the hem of his school robes before catching himself. "Hurry, boy. I will not be delayed."

"Y-yes..." Sirius forced his feet to move, he pushed away all emotion, all his shock so that he could inspect it later in the privacy of a dark room. He straightened his back and let his eyes hide everything behind a mask.

Dumbledore watched Sirius follow the Malfoy's out of the room, he walked stiffly and his hands were fists at his sides yet he held his head high and walked to his doom with as much pride as a sixteen year old could muster. "Harry will be distraught..." He said softly to himself before sighing and following the rest of the court.

Harry was sat in the kitchen when Dumbledore arrived, Ron and Hermione sat on either side of him and even Remus was there. All looked up as the Headmaster entered with such a solemn expression Harry knew instantly what had happened. "No!" He cried as he stood so quickly the chair flew out behind him and crashed to the floor. "No...They can't have!"

"Harry...sit down." Hermione tugged gently on his sleeve but he shrugged her off.

"I am afraid that the Wizengamot has decided to place Sirius in the dubious care of the Malfoys...I have also been ordered by the Governors of the school to place Sirius into Slytherin house...as he has not been sorted in this time...I am unable to refuse lest the school be wrested from my control, and that must not happen under any circumstance. Now more than ever I must remain to protect the students, I am sorry."

Harry fell back into his seat after Hermione had straightened it for him, he had no idea what to do or say...he felt empty and bereft. "They'll kill him." He muttered as he stared at his hands which shook slightly as they rested upon the table.

"No...They need him." Remus whispered softly, his eyes were full of grief but his face showed none of it. "They will keep him alive to prevent the Order from moving against them..."

Dumbledore sighed while Molly began busying herself by making tea. "I am afraid that we cannot allow this to stop us from moving forward with our plans, Remus."

Remus tensed, his fingers clenched into fists. "But Albus...H-he's a child..."

"He is. A child who has no right being in this time, the paths have changed and things are not as they should be. I am behind in my plans and that is detrimental to the whole Wizarding world...remember why we are fighting Remus, remember that there are bigger things than a single life."

Remus swallowed and stood, he was not looking at Dumbledore. "I need some air." He said in a tight voice as he turned and strode from the kitchen, Harry moved to follow but Hermione touched his hand and shook her head so he sat back down again.

The silence in the kitchen was terrible even after Dumbledore had left, he had said little as he had finished his tea and Harry hadn't even said goodbye to him. He sat there, staring at a knot of wood in the table with a dark, brooding frown as Sirius' life once again hung over his head. Finally he stood again. "I'm going outside..." He muttered distractedly and no one stopped him. He found Remus stood at the bottom of the garden and gazing up at the nearly full moon, when Harry approached he acknowledged him with a sharp nod.

"The moon always used to hold fear for me." He muttered, his voice soft but dead sounding. "That was until Sirius and James became Animagi...it was the happiest moment of my life and it's all thanks to them and Dumbledore...without them I would not have even been able to attend school. I am torn...half of me wants to go free Sirius, the other, colder part sees the sense in what Dumbledore is saying...I can only hope he has some kind of plan that he is not telling us, because if not I do not think I will be able to follow him so blindly or trust his judgment."

Harry swallowed the tight feeling in his throat. "Sirius is strong..." He croaked, trying to convince himself as much as Remus.

"Oh, do not believe that mask he wears Harry..." Remus said softly as he leaned on the fence. "He is strong outside but inside he's always been as fragile as a child. His self assurance and cocky arrogance is always dependent upon his state of mind, he will always be that scared little boy who hid from his Mothers fury in the bathroom. He puts up a shield, a shield only you, James and myself have been able to break through. His mental stability has always depended upon those he surrounds himself with and he has always had a darker side to his nature, even more so than I."

"What...what do you mean?" Harry looked at Remus, he looked so much older, the lines in his face more pronounced than ever as he gazed up at the moon as if entranced.

"You entered Severus' memory last year?" Harry nodded. "Then you would have seen him bullying him, did you ever look in his eyes? If you had done you would have seen the Death Eater his parents had always wanted him to be, he has always had this...this strange streak of madness in him that was all at once terrifying and attractive, I think that is what gained your father's attention. James had always been fascinated by people's darker sides, even if he himself never really explored his own. There were some things we did as children..." Remus trailed off and shook his head. "I should not be speaking of this, Harry I think it's time you went to bed..."

"No." Harry gazed at Remus resolutely. "I want to hear this."

Remus sighed. "I suppose you have that right." He cleared his throat and frowned. "I told you that your father despised the Dark Arts..."

"Yes, I remember."

"And he did." Remus smiled to reassure Harry of this fact. "He hated them with a passion, as did I...but Sirius...Sirius was raised in an environment where they taught their children the Dark Arts from the cradle, he was raised knowing spells that are forbidden by the Ministry as are most Dark families. These are traditions passed down from one generation to the next, I am sure Lucius taught his son these spells and rituals. I only know this because Sirius confessed it to me one day before James' death. Of course he would be stupid to spread the knowledge that he knows these things, but I am almost certain he confided it in James, they were closer than brothers. I don't know why James forgave him for it when he never forgave Severus or any other who used them, but I do know that Sirius was prone to use excessive force, even more so than James, he likes to cause harm to those who have harmed him or one of his loved ones, he is extreme and dangerous...I think that James must have had an influence over this because during school he was restrained."

"Why are you telling me this?" Harry asked softly.

Remus chuckled bitterly. "Because I think you are under a delusion that you know Sirius Black...Don't let him fool you Harry, he is as dangerous as any of his cousins, the only thing that held him back was James and when he was gone it drove him over the edge. You saw him when he had escaped Azkaban, the Dementors ravaged him and pushed him even further towards the precipice, and now I think that the only thing holding his madness at bay is you."

"And now...now I'm not with him..." Harry replied as realisation dawned on him. "You really think he'll go over?"

Remus shrugged. "I doubt it, not unless they can make some threat on someone he loves and he feels the need to protect them. But you're safe, you will be returning to Hogwarts soon and you will see each other. I think that will ease his mind, to be able to know for certain that you are safe. You seem to have become his substitute for James..."

"I'm _not_ a substitute." Harry said firmly. "He knows I'm not my father."

Remus said nothing but his eyes were full of pity, Harry turned his head to look out across the hills as a chill wind blew his hair back from his face to reveal his scar.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"Now boy, I do not need to show you around the Manor, as you have visited before...however I will have a house-elf show you to the room you will be staying in. But first follow me." Lucius strode through his house after his cloak had been placed upon the rack at the door, they were surrounded by bowing and curtsying house-elves which Sirius ignored. He gazed despondently around at the familiar walls, the smooth wooden floors and beautiful sweeping staircase. The portraits gazed down at him with eyes full of contempt so he lowered his head and avoided looking at them. He followed Lucius into a large dining room, a huge table ran the length of the room and he could see some people sat around it, but he was much too intent on studying his trainers and avoiding meeting anyone's eyes to take note of who was there. "Now boy, sit."

Sirius did as he was told meekly, too deep in shock to disobey or find any fight in him. He closed his eyes and let Lucius speak.

"I will be laying down a few ground rules but first someone wishes to speak with you..." The tightness of Malfoy senior's voice made Sirius look up and gaze about the table. There were several hooded figures and a few people he didn't recognise but at the head of the table sat one woman he knew instantly, her smile was smug as she looked him up and down and her eyes glittered coldly in the candle light, he felt his chest tighten as Bellatrix Lestrange wiggled her fingers at him in mock greeting. At her side sat a tall figure, his face was white and he was as bald as a baby with no nose and eyes as red as blood. Sirius, although having never met him knew who he was instantly.

"So, this is young Regulus' wayward brother?" Lord Voldemort spoke with high cold voice much at odds with his height. He stood and swept over to Sirius who regained his feet and backed away on instinct. "He fears me...not to worry, dear boy, I will not hurt you..." The Dark Lord smiled coldly. "Yet."

Sirius somehow found his voice. "What do you want from me?" He muttered.

"What do I want? Why, is it not obvious? I want what all men want, Sirius Black, I want immortality and power...it is every man's dream, is it not?"

"But My Lord, you are not every man." Bella said in soft, simpering tones that made Sirius' stomach clench. He lifted his chin and straightened his back, pushing away his fear and facing the Dark Lord properly.

"True indeed, Bella." Voldemort returned his eyes to Sirius. "So, you have found your courage, good, I like courage almost as much as I like strength." He began circling Sirius slowly, like a wolf circling its prey and preparing to strike. "You are indeed younger...When Narcissa told me what she had seen in Diagon Alley I was reluctant to believe...but now I see...How did you do it? How did you return in such a form?"

Sirius continued to hold himself upright, his back stiff and his hands clenched at his sides as Voldemort devoured him with hungry eyes. "It wasn't me." He said in a hard voice.

"Then who?"

"It was James, James Potter. He cast a spell on me when we were at Hogwarts and ended up sending me to the future..."

Voldemort paused and the silence was oppressive as he frowned at Sirius. "Then you have not found a way to make yourself immortal?"

"No."

"Answer him nicely Siri." Bellatrix said with a smirk.

Sirius glared at her furiously. "No, _My Lord_." He hissed.

"Better...but we cannot have this arrogant tone in future..."

"Not to worry, My Lord, we will be sure to beat it out of him." Lucius said with a bow.

"Very well, I am satisfied. I have things to be doing, Dumbledore will not simply drop dead of his own accord now..." He left the room and was followed by his retinue of dark clad figures, all except Bellatrix, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy who had been hidden in the shadows until the room had cleared.

Sirius sat down. "So, that was Lo-"

"Do not speak his name!" Bella muttered, her voice dripping venom as she glared at her cousin.

Sirius ran fingers through his hair to disguise their shaking, he managed to smirk. "Of course, cousin, my mistake. I'm simply surprised that he would give me the honour of such a warm welcome..."

"And think yourself lucky, Siri, not everyone is treated this well." Bella's smile returned and she stood, her long black robes hissing across the wooden floor as she moved towards Sirius. "And it is lovely to see you dear, I _did_ miss playing with you so." She giggled and looked down at him. "I can still see your poor face as you fell through that curtain in the department of mysteries. It seems only yesterday...you looked so surprised that I could defeat you, especially after you had been acting the big brave man and taunting me heedlessly." She reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, slowly she dragged his head back so he was looking up at her. "But now I can have even more fun! It will be just like old times, cousin."

Sirius smiled as coldly as he could. "I look forward to it Bella, I really do."

Her laughter echoed in his head long after he had been escorted to bed and sealed in a room with silver and green hangings. He lay in bed gazing up at the canopy of the large four poster bed trying to will sleep to obliterate everything, but he wasn't allowed even that mercy.


	17. Chapter 17

_AN: Ugh...a little bit more slushy romance, just so I don't overdo the angst...it IS supposed to be an Angsty __Romance__ after all...*Sigh* Anways, the lyrics below are from a song actually featured in HP and the Deathly Hallows, I LOVE that song and it's so appropriate! :) I hope you are still enjoying my story and I hope it's making you happy to read! (It also has lots of mild man-sex...which of course, I would hope you all love! Oh and FYI, if you care, I actually live in Wiltshire... :D)_

_**He's found the answer that we lost**__**  
**__**We're all weeping now, weeping because**__**  
**__**There ain't nothing we can do to protect you**__** – Nick Cave, 'O' Children'**_

New Year found Sirius standing by the window of his bedroom, which was luxurious but still a prison. He was only allowed to leave when he was with a member of the house, at all other times he was sealed in the room with magic and his wand had been taken from him. He was helpless. He leaned against the casement and gazed out across the Wiltshire countryside wandering if Harry was alright, he wanted to see him, he wanted it so desperately he was haunted by Harry's smile at night. Draco had been following him around, he had that constant annoying smirk on his lips that made Sirius want to punch it right off his smug little ferret face.

The room could only be described as opulent, the four poster bed was draped with beautiful hangings of rich silks in the Slytherin colours, there was an ornate desk with parchment, quill and ink upon it, but he wasn't allowed to contact anyone so he rarely used it. The floors were dark stained wood and covered in great big rich Turkish rugs, he only had a single narrow window but it gave him a view of the surrounding countryside and he liked to perch before it and stare at it to give himself a false sense of freedom.

He had been given the house rules, too many of them for him to bother to remember, he managed, somehow, to keep hold of his mask and hide his true fear behind it. So far he had little to do with any other member of the house, except for Bella, she had taken to coming to visit him and taunting him about his imprisonment.

"Aw, is our ikle Siwi missing his fweinds?"

Sirius didn't even bother to look at her, he sighed as he leaned against the window casement.

"It's rude to ignore people, Sirius." Bella moved across the room and stood behind him, he felt her long fingers plucking at his hair. "I've always liked your hair long..." She said absently. "It makes you look like Auntie Walburga..."

"Don't." Sirius shrugged her off irritably. "I don't need reminding that I look like...like her."

"Does it shame you?"

"Of course it does, she was mad." Sirius felt her fingers dig into his shoulders, her breath tickled his cheek when she chuckled.

"Mad? You were the mad one, defying your own blood to moon after a boy who never loved you..."

"What does it matter to you? You've never liked me...why would you care?"

"Oh, Siri, you wound me!" her laugh sent shudders down his spine and he gritted his teeth. "Of course I care, we're family aren't we?"

"Stop it! You're a serpent...just like Him!" He struggled free and stepped away from her. "You have never been my family! My only family were the Potters and they're dead! They're all dead! Even...even Reg..."

Bella waved a dismissive hand. "Reg was practically worthless, you were always the stronger one, why do you think I chose you to help me hone my skills? You are talented and the Dark Lord needs talent."

"Then he can go find it elsewhere...you know me, Bella, I won't join him."

Bellatrix merely smiled and left him alone again to brood on his predicament.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

They returned to Hogwarts after the holidays had ended and when they reached Gryffindor Tower Harry gazed around despondently at the Common Room, he knew Sirius had been placed in Slytherin house but half of him had hoped that Dumbledore had been able to change that, it seemed he hadn't. After half an hour of sitting and gazing into the fire he went to bed and curled up beneath his blankets, as he closed his eyes he wished that Sirius was beside him, his warmth and scent had comforted him somehow, made him feel less alone, but now everything was dark and cold.

At breakfast he searched the hall and found Sirius sitting beside Draco Malfoy who looked so smug Harry felt anger boil his insides, but looking at Sirius made his heart ache. The boy looked up from his food and the smile he gave Harry was brilliant until Malfoy nudged him and whispered something in his ear, Sirius' face fell and he glared at the blond furiously. Hermione tugged gently on Harry's sleeve and they sat down at Gryffindor table, he wasn't in the mood to eat so he simply pushed his food across the plate.

Their first lesson was Defence and so Harry followed his friends out the Hall and towards the Marble Staircase, he felt something grab the back of his robes and he was yanked off his feet and out of the press of students, he found himself pinned against the wall by Sirius who was staring at him with wide eyes. "Harry!" He gasped, he scanned his face intently as if trying to memorise every last little detail. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine...I'm more concerned about you...are they treating you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

Sirius's smile was as brilliant as the sun as he pulled Harry into a small cupboard where they were hidden from prying eyes, he grabbed him and pushed him against the wall, pressing their lips together as his fingers gripped handfuls of Harry's hair. "I missed you...so much." He whispered when he pulled away.

"I missed you as well...but you still haven't answered my question!" Harry held him off so Sirius couldn't kiss him again and make him forget what he was saying.

Sirius' face fell slightly but he smoothed Harry's fringe from his face gently. "So far all I've had is a black eye...and a few bruises. They can beat me up all they want to, I'm used to it...but being apart from you is like...it's worse than having to listen to Bella list all the things she wants to do to Mud-muggleborn's..."

Harry frowned but before he could comment on Sirius' slip of the tongue, that very appendage was shoved into his mouth and he forgot everything and let himself be swept away. They kissed for as long as they could until Sirius released him and stepped away, his tie was lose and Harry hated seeing the silver and green around his neck, but Sirius' smile was so sweet he didn't say anything. "We'll be late for dear old Snivellus, come on..." He moved awkwardly around the mops and buckets before pushing open the door and Harry followed him.

When they reached the classroom they were just in time to see Snape open the door, his cold gaze lingered on Sirius and he sneered. "Tidy yourself up Black, I will not have anyone from my house looking like a filthy street urchin!"

Sirius smiled. "Go fuck yourself Snivelly." He said softly and walked past the shocked teacher. Harry's eyes widened and Hermione let slip a small gasp, Ron sniggered but Snape was slowly turning that horrible splotchy red as fury made his black eyes glisten.

"Black!" He said softly as he followed his student into the room and stood above him, Sirius was unpacking his bag but he stopped when he realised Snape was there.

"Yes sir?" He said innocently.

"How dare you speak to me like that! I am your teacher!"

"Hmm...I don't seem to recall you teaching me anything sir, so far we've only covered stuff I already know how to do. Until such time as you decide to teach, I will perhaps treat you like a teacher." He smiled blandly at Snape who looked as if he was about to scream, but instead he planted his hands firmly on Sirius' desk and leaned over him.

"One more insult from you and you will be in detention for the rest of the school year, do you understand me?"

Sirius shrugged. "Ok."

"Ok, _what_, Black?"

"Ok, _sir_."

"Apologise."

Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, sir, I'm ever so sorry I hurt your feelings sir." He said in a monotone.

Snape hissed softly. "You will regret this." He muttered and stalked to the front of the room and leaving Sirius looking satisfied. "Now today I wish to see how well you duel, for this we have reserved the Great Hall, follow me."

They followed Snape down into the Great Hall which had been cleared of the house tables, the students lined up before him clutching their wands and gazing around nervously, their last bout of duelling practice hadn't gone so well. Harry watched Snape walk up and down the line of students before finally halting. "I expect you all to be at least capable of producing a shield charm without speech, but I suspect I am going to be severely disappointed...now, into pairs."

Harry looked for Sirius but before he could pair himself off with him Snape placed Sirius with Draco, Harry shot the smug blond a glare before standing beside Ron. One by one each pair was asked to stand at opposite ends of a low platform and duel in silence, it was an unmitigated disaster involving much cheating and swearing on both parts. Snape finally called up Sirius and Malfoy, the hall fell silent and Harry watched as Sirius bowed, Malfoy gave him a perfunctory nod of the head before they took their stances.

"Begin!" Snape's voice echoed around the hall and silence fell.

Sirius narrowed his eyes before he saw Draco move, a tiny smirk crossed his face and with a strike faster than a snake his curse met Draco's in the middle of the air. As Harry watched the air seemed to become heavy, Sirius seemed to be dancing, his wand was an extension of his arm and he moved so quickly it was hard to follow the movement with his eye, Draco was being forced backwards beneath a rain of coloured sparks, suddenly Sirius twisted, already a smile of victory on his face as he whirled and flourished his wand. Draco's eyes widened but before he could speak the counter curse he was blasted off his feet and hit the dais where the teachers table normally resided.

There was silence in the hall until Snape moved over and crouched beside Draco. "Unconscious..." He muttered, "Crabbe, take him to Madam Pomfrey." He snapped.

Sirius smiled to himself as he stepped down off the platform. "And that is how it's done." He grinned at Harry who was badly suppressing his own smile.

"Black!"

Sirius turned to a fuming Snape. "Yes sir? Is there a problem?"

"Those spells you were using...they were far beyond the knowledge of most seventh years, let alone a sixth, what were you thinking? You could have killed him."

"But I didn't, did I? I was holding back...he's fine, just a bit concussed." He shrugged. "You wanted to show us how to duel, in the real world they aim to kill, so should we."

"This is a teaching environment, Black, there will be no killing here."

Sirius chuckled darkly and pushed hair back from his face, "I wouldn't count on that, Snivellus." He gave Snape a strange, knowing smile. "You can't put me in detention for doing what I was told, sir. You really should give Draco some better lessons, I really don't think he knows half as much as he should."

When Snape had given them all an icy dismissal Sirius waited for Harry by the front doors, when he saw Harry running towards him he grinned. "Enjoy my demonstration? I've been wanting to do that for ages!"

"Sirius, that was dangerous..." Harry muttered, taking Sirius by the elbow and drawing him to the side so they had a private corner to talk in. "You could have really hurt him!"

"Even if I had he would deserve it, and you know it." Sirius replied defensively, his eyes going slightly colder and a small pout appearing on his face. "He's a slimy git."

"I know, but...I don't like it..."

"What, that I knocked him out? Come on, he deserves so much worse."

"Not that...I just don't like the fact that you...you seem different."

"How?" Sirius raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Colder...what are they doing to you in that place?"

"Nothing yet, I just..." He looked away and hugged himself slightly as a frown of worry creased his brows. "I just hate being back with them...It's like I've been zapped back in time to Grimmauld place and I...I hate it. I don't like being told what to do, or treated like a house-elf...But I don't have a choice." He lifted his hand and touched Harry's, their fingers entwined and Sirius leaned back against the wall, pulling Harry with him so they were close. "I can't stop thinking about you..." He whispered as he fiddled with Harry's shirt. He leaned closer so his lips brushed Harry's ear. "Let's find somewhere private..." He breathed.

The privacy they found ended up being an unused toilet, they stumbled into a cubicle with their mouths locked and Sirius' fingers gripping handfuls of Harry's robes as he pulled them off his shoulders. Their hands were frantic as Harry scrambled clumsily with Sirius' belt and trousers, when they were finally around his knees he turned him around and pushed him roughly onto all fours.

It was rough and desperate, but Harry could not imagine anything more perfect. Thought didn't enter into their hormone drowned minds, they were driven by ravening lust. Sirius was in pain but he ignored it, it was a good pain, the kind of pain that let him know he was alive and wanted, even the bruises Harry's fingers left on his hips would be a nice reminder that he didn't have to suffer all the time, that somewhere someone actually needed him as much as he needed them.

It didn't last very long, but to Sirius it felt like forever as he bit his lip feeling his orgasm approach like a rocket, he lowered his head and let it wash over him, a great wave of intensity that made him have to bite down on his own arm to stop any noise from escaping.

Afterwards they pulled up their trousers and resettled their robes before sitting beside each other and kissing for a while, it was utter bliss and Sirius was smiling as they left the bathroom after cleaning themselves up. Harry smirked back when Ron and Hermione found them later and they made their way to Potions.

After dinner Sirius managed to shake off Draco and he ran off after Harry who he had seen going up the marble staircase, he grabbed him and pulled him away from his friends by the hand. They found an empty classroom and began kissing furiously, Sirius felt his chest ache as Harry pushed him against the teachers desk, Harry's tongue was fire and his hands were desperate as they sought contact with his own. Finally they drew away and Sirius sighed happily, nuzzling the side of Harry's neck gently. "Mm..." He hummed. "Meet me later tonight by the front doors, let's spend the night in the shack...just you, me, and a blanket..."

"I can't say no to you..." Harry replied as Sirius pushed his head beneath his chin in much the same way a puppy would greet a litter mate. "But what if we're caught?"

"We won't be...You've got the map and the invisibility cloak...come on, I can't stand to spend another night in that stinking dungeon they call a dormitory..." He slipped his fingers between Harry's and began nipping at his ear. "It's cold down there...and everything's green...it's horrible."

"Sirius...we'll be caught! This is stupid..."

"No, what's stupid is me having to spend all that time under Mini-foy's pointed ferret face...What's stupid is having to regret every second I'm away from you...what's stupid, Mr. Prongslet, is having to put up with all the filthy things my imagination conjures up during a particularly boring lesson..."

Harry giggled and kissed Sirius slowly. "Alright...just for tonight, we'll break some rules."

"Oh we'll be doing a lot more than breaking the rules." Sirius drew away with a smile that made Harry shiver pleasantly. "I'll see you tonight then."

Harry was distracted for the rest of the evening, yet each time Hermione tried to get him to tell her what was wrong he simply smiled and shook his head. He was unable to concentrate on his homework and so spent most of his time gazing into the fire and thinking about what he and Sirius would be doing in a few hours time.

Sirius watched the Giant Squid swim lazily past the window and felt a small smile on his lips even as he was forced to listen to Malfoy talk about something irrelevant, he smiled as he rested his chin on his hand and gazed out into the deep waters of the Lake. His head was so full of Harry that he didn't even notice that Malfoy was trying to get his attention until he felt something tug painfully at his hair. "Ow!" He winced and pulled himself free of those fingers, turning to glare at Draco.

"I was talking to you and you were just staring off with a stupid smile on your face!" He snapped.

"Oh well, I do apologise Lord Malfoy!" Sirius replied, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"Listen to me when I speak Black or I will make sure you regret it."

Sirius sneered and got to his feet. "Yeah, right. You are incapable of doing any damage to me, Malfoy, I think I demonstrated just how much more powerful I am than you earlier."

"Where are you going?"

"Out." Sirius shook his hair back from his face as he walked away, ignoring Draco's furious calls for him to come back and apologise. He swept a cloak over his shoulders and stepped out into the torch lit corridor, carefully he crept up the steps to the Entrance Hall.

When he reached the heavy doors leading outside he waited until he felt hands cover his eyes and smiled. A hot whisper caressed his ear; "Guess who?"

"Harry..." He muttered and turned around to find himself gazing into warm green eyes.

"Come on then." Harry threw the invisibility cloak over them both and they ran down the steps and out into the cold air.

The shack was creaking around them, the only noises were their soft giggles and gentle whispers. Sirius and Harry had managed to clean the bed as best they could and now lay curled up on their sides, they were talking softly and laughing, the outside world no longer mattered and not even Voldemort could disturb their peace. Sirius held Harry's hand and gazed into his eyes, he had never in all his short life, been so happy, he could hardly keep from smiling even as he buried his face in Harry's neck and breathed deeply.

"What did you want to do with your future?" Harry asked softly as moonlight splashed across the bed from the window and dust swirled around them, it had settled in Sirius' hair but he was still as handsome as ever and Harry could still not understand what Sirius saw in him.

"I wanted to be the first Wizard to visit the moon..." He said and chuckled at Harry's raised eyebrow. "It's true, I used to talk about it all the time to Uncle Alphard, he would sit with me in his lap and help me plan my trip and everything. I remember once when I was five I tried to run away, all I took with me was a sack full of broken toys..." He laughed at the memory, he had his eyes closed and Harry admired his face, his prominent cheek bones, the gentle slant of his perfectly straight nose and the way his thick eyelashes rested on his cheeks. "Well, they hadn't been broken when I first got them, my Uncle gave them to me for my birthday but my mother went and smashed them all, telling me that no son of hers was going to play with such silly things. So, I decided to run away and take the toys to a toymaker who could fix it...of course I got thoroughly lost and it wasn't until I managed to set fire to a Muggle's trousers with uncontrolled magic that they found me...I had hoped I'd be able to get to the moon too, but my mother soon dashed those hopes by telling me that only Muggle's had been to the moon in tiny ships and they died up there. She told me that all I would see were their bloated bodies floating around space..." He sighed heavily and opened his eyes to reveal that brilliant silver. "After that I decided that perhaps the moon was better left alone."

Harry kissed his nose and watched him wrinkle it, he chuckled and pulled him closer with a sigh. "So, what did you want to be when you left school? I mean, like a job?"

Sirius snorted derisively. "Harry James Potter, anyone would think we had never met! I'm rich, remember? I don't have to do anything at all. But as for ambition..." He paused and gazed up at the sagging canopy above their heads. "I'd like a motorbike...you know one of those muggle monstrosities that roar? They're beautiful! All silver metal and black leather and they make that amazing noise." His eyes glittered as he talked and Harry listened in contentment. "It would absolutely kill my mother if she realised I got one of those! I'd ride it up and down the street all night and drive her more insane than she already is! And then, when she came out to shout at me I'd drive it straight at her!" He grinned as he imagined her face. "Ah, but it's all dreams, isn't it? I'll never get a bike...I've always wanted to see if I could make one fly...like a broom but more comfortable for long distance..."

"You do though..." Harry said, running his fingers through Sirius' hair. "You get a bike and you somehow make it fly, against Ministry regulations, of course."

"Really? Wow..." Sirius grinned and kissed Harry. "At least I know I achieved that much, even if I did end up wasting my life fighting a pointless war."

"But that war wasn't pointless..." Harry sat up, frowning at Sirius.

"It was and you know it, look where it got us! Your dad dead, me ruined and locked up for twelve years, Remus grief stricken and you..." He reached up and touched Harry's scar, running his finger across it tenderly. "You hurt worst of all...and in the end the Dark Lord didn't die...he just faded." He sighed and let his hand fall to his side. "So, don't tell me it wasn't pointless...if James had never started fighting and just bloody well settled down I doubt I would have had to join him, if he had just grown some sense in his thick head and raised his family without poking the lion by proving that he was too powerful for Voldemort to kill, then none of it would have happened."

"If none of it had happened I wouldn't be here." Harry said with a small smile. "The prophecy remember? Voldemort would have hunted my father down anyway..."

"But he wouldn't have known who James was if he had kept his nose out!" Sirius brushed his knuckles along Harry's cheek. "If..."

"It doesn't matter now though, Sirius...what's done is done, we can't change that...but even if we could can you really say that you wouldn't have got involved?"

Sirius smiled. "Yeah, I spose I am a glutton for punishment..."

"You are..." Harry smiled as he leaned down and captured Sirius' lips in a kiss, he groaned softly and pulled away slightly.

Sirius pulled Harry down on top of him and deepened the kiss. He felt Harry's hand slide down his bare chest and come to rest against his abdomen, he pulled away with a sigh and grabbed Harry's wrist, slowly moving his hand further down until he was right where he needed him most. He let out a soft breath and his eyes fell half closed as he felt Harry's touch, his lips curled into a small smile and he moved his hips slowly. "Harry..." he whispered and they were kissing again, soft, wet, open mouthed kisses that tasted like mint from their toothpaste.


	18. Chapter 18

_AN: Hi there, I'm sorry for such a short chapter but I'm exhausted and I cannot write another word...I hope you can fogive this poor author...I thank you all for your lovely reviews and stuff they makes me happy. :) Please continue to enjoy...thanks._

_**All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name.**__**  
**__**- Andre Breton**_

Harry woke at dawn and spent a minute admiring Sirius while he slept, but as the sky turned pink he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Sirius mumbled and slowly opened his eyes, when he saw Harry he grinned and yawned. "What time is it?" He muttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Just past dawn I think...we need to get up and get back to the castle."

"Ugh...I'd rather stay here forever." Sirius grumbled, burying his face between Harry's neck and shoulder. "The world can go fuck itself...I'm happy right here."

Harry chuckled and gently extracted himself from Sirius' arms, he slid from the bed and Sirius moaned petulantly as he spread himself out like a starfish and whined. "Sirius, we have school..."

"But I don't want to go to lessons! I want to stay right bloody here and never move for the rest of my damned life! I want to do nothing but have sex with you for eternity, is that too much to ask?"

"Wouldn't that get a bit repetitive, not to mention sore?"

Sirius opened an eye and huffed so his fringe fluttered. "No. I'd love every bloody minute of it. Now come back here!" he pushed down the duvet to reveal his body, he smiled lazily and watched Harry's eyes move over him greedily. "Come on, once more won't hurt...we can skip first lesson, and no one will be any wiser..." He lifted an arm and beckoned.

"Don't make this harder than it already is..." Harry muttered hoarsely.

"Oh I plan on making it _extremely_ hard, Harry..." Sirius sat up and crawled to the end of the bed where Harry was sat, he snaked his arms around him and tugged on his earlobe with his teeth. "Come on...once more, for luck?"

"What do you need to be lucky for?"

"Ok, if not for luck, I need wank material..."

Harry choked on a laugh. "Do you take anything seriously?"

"I'm very Sirius." He giggled and Harry shivered pleasantly. "Go on...please, please, _please_?" Sirius' hands slid down Harry's chest as he nipped and bit at the back of his neck. "I can't go to Arithmancy with a hard-on..."

"Sirius..." Harry closed his eyes as he felt Sirius' hands sliding downwards; he swallowed the lump in his throat.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"Harry, where on earth have you been?" Hermione exclaimed as Harry came to a sudden halt by her side as they stood outside their Potions classroom.

"Sorry..." Harry gasped. "I got...held up..."

Hermione narrowed her eyes and scanned him shrewdly, his hair was even more a mess than it normally was, his shirt hung out of his trousers and his tie hung low around his neck. He looked as if he had dressed in a hurry and he had dust in his hair, it was caught in the sleeves of his robes as well. "You weren't in the Dorm last night either, mate...where have you been?" Ron asked, looking him up and down. "And where's your bag?"

"Oh crap!" Harry swore loudly gaining the attention of his classmates and a disproving frown from Slughorn who had just opened the door. There was a soft chuckle and they all turned to see Sirius holding out Harry's bag with a smirk on his face, Harry snatched it off him but was unable to keep his own smile completely of his lips.

"Now then, shall we begin?" Slughorn said jovially as everyone seated themselves at the desks. Sirius managed to sit with Harry by shoving Ron to the side and sitting down quickly before anyone could say anything, Ron shot him a hurt look before sitting beside Hermione.

During the lesson Harry spent the best hour of his life laughing and flirting with Sirius who had him in hysterics when he decided to make the world's most powerful Aphrodisiac instead of the Gangrene cure they were supposed to be making. It came out perfectly, with its smooth, thick texture and the colour of rose petals. Sirius leaned over it and sniffed. "Wow..." He muttered wincing slightly. "That _is_ powerful..."

Harry's eyes widened as he watched the steam rise and fill the room like a thick, scented fog. It smelt like liquorice and cinnamon and had the boys blushing furiously and looking exceedingly uncomfortable as Sirius roared with laughter, he fell off his stool he was laughing so hard. Harry giggled along with him, but made sure to stay resolutely in his seat to save himself some embarrassment. Hermione was flushed pink and gazed sternly at Harry, Ron had buried his face in his arms and was refusing to look at anyone and Draco Malfoy had sunk so low in his seat that his eyes were level with his desk.

Slughorn ran over and tisked irritably. "I say, I didn't tell you to brew this...come now Mr. Black, let's not embarrass your fellows." With a wave of his wand the cauldron emptied and there was a general sigh of relief. "Well, I must admit that was a rather brilliantly made potion, twenty points to Gryffin-Slytherin, however I must remove points for making the wrong potion so you will be awarded ten."

Draco was smirking as he realised that Slytherin would be getting the points instead of Gryffindor. When they had finished the lesson Sirius and Harry left the room together, their fingers brushing lightly as they walked and smiles on their faces. Suddenly something grabbed Sirius' sleeve and pulled him back, he found himself face to face with Draco. "Let go." He ripped himself free and stepped backwards. "What the hell do you want, Malfoy?"

"I want you to walk with me, not Potter."

Harry raised his eyebrow and adjusted his bag into a more comfortable position. Sirius let out a single bark of laughter and walked off, slipping his arm through Harry's and shooting Draco a smirk. "Sorry, Ferret boy, but I have other things to be doing." He looked away before a look of fury crossed Draco's face but Harry didn't miss it, he felt a twist of worry in his gut but it was quickly pushed aside when Sirius began whispering in his ear.

At Dinner Harry sat in such a way that he had a good view of the Slytherin table, Sirius saw him and waved exuberantly, gaining himself some perfectly horrified looks from Draco's friends. Draco himself was staring at his food with a frown as he ate quickly. Suddenly Sirius stood up, all eyes were drawn to him as he vaulted the table smoothly and wandered over to sit at Harry's side. "Why hullo Potter, how are you this fine evening?" He smirked as the Gryffindor's began grinning and glancing back at the Slytherin table full of rather horrified faces.

"They'll kill you!" Ron exclaimed with wide eyes, he waved his fork in the general direction of the Slytherin table.

Sirius shrugged carelessly. "I'm already a blood-traitor, what more can they do?" He picked up a spoon and helped himself to some of Harry's treacle tart much to his irritation, he lifted his own spoon and hit Sirius on the back of the hand. "Ow!" he pouted and rubbed his bruised knuckles.

"No one touches my Treacle tart." Harry said sternly but his smile took away the menace in his voice.

Hermione giggled and shook her head. "You two are so obvious!" She exclaimed.

"Obviously what?" Ron asked with a frown, Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed.

Harry and Sirius shared a knowing smile.

The next week passed in some kind of blissful dream for Harry, he was swept away by Sirius' intensity, he took insane risks to snatch a few brief seconds with Harry and he would do anything to spend time alone with him, even if it meant kidnapping him by dragging him into empty classrooms between lessons or stealing him at lunch time and taking him into the nearest bathroom where they would scramble frantically with each other's clothes, their groans swallowed by their mouths as they sought each other's skin. Sirius seemed prepared to break every rule in Hogwarts if it meant spending even five short minutes with his lips glued to Harry's, he was full of reckless energy and his eyes glittered dangerously with the knowledge of the possibility of getting caught with his hands down Harry's trousers, he actually seemed to get off on doing it in strange and borderline public areas, but Harry couldn't find it in himself to complain.

It was addictive, he was in a seemingly constant state of giddy joy and he couldn't get enough of it. Hermione kept warning him to be more careful, but Harry shrugged it off, telling her it was fine, they weren't going to get caught and it was just a bit of fun...but even he couldn't ignore that insane gleam in Sirius' eyes as he sought to improve the thrill by getting more and more irresponsible.

One evening after a particularly intense encounter in the Arithmancy classroom, Sirius was sitting on the teacher's desk, his shirt open half way down his chest along with his tie, it was un-tucked at the back and side. His trousers were open and his hair an elegant mess, in his right hand he had a cigarette as he reclined casually and basked in the afterglow of hasty sex. Harry was stood by the window, his own shirt completely undone and his tie in his hands he gazed down at the grounds and watched people milling about as they took full advantage of the last few hours before curfew.

"So, it's my birthday soon." Sirius muttered, pushing hair out of his eyes as he watched Harry.

"It is isn't it..." Harry turned and smiled. "Then you'll be free..."

Sirius shook his head. "My cousin won't let me go that easily, Harry."

Harry sighed heavily, he remembered something Hermione had said to him and he turned with a frown. "Sirius, Hermione told me to look at a book..."

"Is that surprising?" Sirius said blowing smoke through his nostrils and giving himself the look of a very debauched dragon. "What kind of book?"

"Nature's Nobility; a Wizarding Genealogy..." He was watching Sirius carefully as he sat up slowly and stubbed his cigarette out on the desk.

"Why? What's that old book got to interest a Muggleborn?" He frowned.

"I don't know, I hoped you could tell me."

Sirius kicked his legs back and forth and then slowly his eyes widened. "You don't know do you?" He exclaimed gazing at Harry with wide eyes.

"Know what?"

"James Potter, your father, was my first cousin once removed..."

Harry fell on his arse. His mouth hung open like a fish as he looked up at Sirius who seemed surprised by his reaction, he stood and helped Harry to his feet before guiding him to a chair. "Y-You...a-and me...are...?"

"Related, yes. Of course we are..." Sirius was smiling. "Most of the pureblood families are interrelated, otherwise there would be no purebloods. You're related to Draco Malfoy too you know, and the Weasley's. I can't believe you didn't know!"

"You did tell me that purebloods were related but I never thought about it before...not that we were..." he paused and shivered. "B-But that means...that means what we're doing..." Sirius said nothing but his face became serious as he folded his arms across his chest, he watched Harry come to terms with what they had been doing. Finally he sucked in a breath through his teeth. "But its...its not so bad, is it? I mean, neither of us are capable of having kids so its...not weird or anything right?"

Sirius shrugged. "Harry, you're talking to the guy whose own parents were second cousins. To me the only thing wrong is fucking a sibling."

"R-Right...yeah...sorry..." Harry hung his head. "I can't believe I ignored that." He sighed. "Why did Hermione point it out? I was quite happy not knowing..."

Sirius let Harry absorb the shock of discovering that they were actually blood related, he hoped it didn't ruin anything, he had always known that Muggles had different rules and laws concerning interbreeding but Wizards had no such laws so there tended to be a bit more insanity in the old families. He sighed and looked out the window, he could only wait and hope it didn't make Harry think twice about what they were doing.

**END NOTE: Lastly: Yes, Harry Potter is most certainly related to Sirius Black. Even if James' parents weren't the Dorea and Charlus Potter on the Black family tree, all pureblood wizards are interrelated so by default they're related anyways through James. :D So, there we go.**


	19. Chapter 19

_AN: Well Hello again fellow Potter fans! :D Sorry about the previous chapter, its not up to my usual standards, hopefully this one will make for that! The plot is thickening and things are revealed! Enjoy and I thank all of you wonderful, wonderful people who have been so diligently reviewing, you make me want to bake you cookies, but you can't send cookies through PM. :( So have internet cookies instead! :D_

_**I let it fall, my heart,**__**  
**__**And as it fell you rose to claim it**__**  
**__**It was dark and I was over**__**  
**__**Until you kissed my lips and you saved me **_

– _**Adele, Set Fire To the Rain**_

The Slytherin Common Room was nearly empty as Sirius sat by the fire, the stone walls were dark and he gazed into the flames and lost himself in the dancing patterns. It wasn't until he felt fingers in his hair that he blinked as he came out of his trance, fingers ran down his neck and he felt his hair lifted. "You think that just because you are following orders that it gives you the right to ignore me, Sirius?" Malfoy whispered into his ear as his cold fingers touched a spot just beneath his hairline and behind his ear, he chuckled and Sirius shrugged him off. "That mark suites you."

"Piss off." Sirius whispered hoarsely. "Don't touch it."

"I can do with you as I like and you will sit there quietly and let me, because my father gave you to me."

"Only until he can use me as breeding material." Sirius took Malfoy's hands and pushed him away, his ebony hair fell back into place and hid the tiny tattoo. "What will you do then, hmm? Will you watch as they marry me off to some cousin? Come now, I thought you wanted me?"

"I do. And you will always belong to me, Black."

"That's a crock of shite." Sirius grinned. "I'm Harry's if I belong to anyone at all...It's him. It will always be Harry."

"Why? Why would you prefer him over me? His blood is tainted."

Sirius shook his head. "It's purer than yours or mine, at least he's free of this...this horrible obsession with blood purity! Just because we ignore the fact that we have at least a tiny portion of Muggle blood in us, doesn't mean we don't."

"The traitors are disinherited therefore not of our blood." Malfoy sneered.

"Doesn't change the fact that we have non-magical blood in us...you can ignore it, push it under the rug but it's still there. If we continue to breed in amongst ourselves we will soon die out and that's not only stupid but it would mean the end of purebloods, I thought the Dark Lord wanted us to rise above Muggles, not have us die out."

"You bear his mark and yet you still talk of treachery?" Draco grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it up to once again reveal that tiny mark, it was a skull with a serpent rising from its mouth and ready strike.

"I don't bear it willingly, this isn't like yours and you know it. It's a mark of slavery, not of trust."

"But if you would just change the Dark Lord would reward you! You don't have to be a slave..."

"I'd rather be a forced slave than a willing one." He replied, his eyes absorbed the flames from the fire and made them turn to cold steel. "I'll die before I willingly betray anyone."

"Then you will probably die then." Malfoy released his hair but grabbed his wrists instead, Sirius found himself pushed onto his back and gazing up into light grey eyes. "But who will really mourn your death, Black? If you die at the hands of the Dark Lord I will make sure Harry is made aware of your betrayal, I will watch with a smile as his heart breaks knowing that at the last his precious dog was disloyal..."

"Harry wouldn't believe you without proof." Sirius said firmly.

"Oh? Who's to say that I wouldn't have proof?"

Sirius found nothing to say to that even as Draco trapped his hands above his head and straddled his hips. He simply closed his eyes and wished that it was Harry's hands on him.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

Something wasn't right, of that Hermione was sure. Sirius spent most of his time seducing Harry which Hermione didn't mind quite as much as Ron, but it still gave her a queasy feeling when she wandered why he was doing it. She knew Sirius was in love with Harry, it shone in his eyes when they looked at each other, it was in his body language and she also knew that he was as devoted to Harry as he had been last year. Yet there was something bugging her, but she had yet to put her finger on it, she had tried to dissuade Harry from continuing with Sirius by telling him about the book, because she had been sure his Muggle upbringing would put him off sleeping with a cousin, no matter how distant...but it hadn't worked. Harry simply shrugged it off, saying that all other Wizards did it, why should he care? He had even pointed out that even the Weasley's were related both being descended from a similar branch of Black's, Ron had chosen to remain silent on that.

So, she had decided to try and get the truth from Sirius himself, if he was up to something she was sure that it wouldn't result in harm to Harry but she still needed to be certain. Ever since she had got to know young Sirius Black, she had had the feeling he wasn't entirely sane, she had warned Harry of this the previous year but she had been less worried then as Sirius had more years of life experience than he did now. There was something dangerous about him that she was sure was why Harry found him so attractive, he was wild and seemed incapable of following any kind of rules.

She caught him coming up from the dungeons, he looked tired and she noticed that he looked skinnier. She walked over to him and he smiled brightly. "Well, if it isn't my favourite Muggleborn, how are we?" He said as they fell into step beside each other. It was a weekend and so he was dressed in normal clothes, they had obviously been brought for him by the Malfoy's as she didn't think that Gringotts had sorted out his account properly yet. He was dressed in faded torn jeans that seemed to hang off of his hips and a black long sleeved t-shirt, the look suited him but he seemed a bit out of place. When he saw her looking at his clothes he grinned. "This nineties fashion is odd, but comfy I suppose...back in my time I used to wear jeans that were almost uncomfortably tight and tight t-shirts with my favourite leather jacket..." He pulled a face. "My mother hated that, she preferred me in robes, but I shunned them unless I was at school...she shouldn't have made such a big deal or I wouldn't have deliberately rebelled. But anyway, you look like you have something to talk about."

"Well...I think we should go somewhere private." She said.

"Come on then, let's go outside, it's a nice day." He took her hand and pulled her into the Entrance Hall.

When they were outside Sirius made a beeline for a tree by the lake where he threw himself down onto the grass looking as inelegant as possible as he stretched and sighed, it made her smile to see the weird changes in him. He could change at the drop of a hat, going from pureblood aristocrat to scruffy teenager and back again as suddenly as if he had switched personalities, he smiled at the sky as the sun beat down on their heads. The day was chill but the sky was high and impossibly blue, people wandered around chatting and laughing as they took advantage of the sunshine. "So, talk." Sirius muttered, pushing hair from his face as he gazed at her with his sharp eyes.

She frowned and wondered where to begin without offending him. Finally she decided to be blunt, there was no other way around it. "This thing you have with Harry...I want to know how far you plan on taking it?"

Sirius cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? I reckon we've taken it as far as it can go..." He smirked and Hermione shook her head.

"Not in a physical sense, I mean emotionally. I know you love him, Sirius, I can see it...but I'm worried...There's something wrong with it." She watched his reaction and got it when his face turned blank abruptly and he turned away. "What did they do to you when they took you back to Malfoy manor over Christmas?"

Sirius fidgeted with the long sleeve of his t-shirt and gazed at the grass. "Hermione I...I can't talk of this."

"Why? I have to know...If this is going to put Harry in any danger...?"

Finally Sirius looked her dead in the eyes, he grabbed her by the shoulders and lowered his voice. "Hermione, warn him!" He said desperately, his face crumpling. "Tell him!" He released her and lifted his hair up, she looked and gasped.

"Oh! Oh Sirius..."

"Tell him to stay away from me!"

"B-But...!"

"They asked me t-to keep Harry busy...to distract him." Sirius let his hair cover the Dark Mark and leaned against the tree, suddenly the day seemed darker as he wrapped his arms around his knees. "Problem is, I've been enjoying it...S-so I-I told myself I wasn't following orders, it didn't matter that it was distracting Harry...because I wanted him. I want him like I've never wanted anything else! But it can't continue, can it? Not now..."

The wind picked up and blew Sirius' hair into his eyes. "What are you distracting him from, Sirius? I need to know."

Sirius looked at her, the sky darkened as clouds covered the sun. He licked his lips before speaking softly. "Draco Malfoy is working on a plan to sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts...He's been asked to kill Dumbledore."

Hermione's eyes widened. "The n-necklace...and Borgin and Burkes..."

Sirius nodded slowly. "If they found out I told you..."

"They won't Sirius, don't worry. Dumbledore should be warned but he's not likely to give anything away."

"I'm not worried about me, Hermione." He smiled gently. "It's Harry I'm worried about. Draco's got it in for him, and he's probably going to try something stupid."

"Then we'll stop it. We'll warn Dumbledore..."

Sirius gazed out across the lake with a frown. "I reckon he already knows." He said softly.

"What makes you say that?"

"Have you ever wondered about Snape?"

"Don't tell me you don't trust him either..." She sighed heavily.

"Of course I don't! He's Snivelly, in this time as well as mine. No...what I mean is, he's acting spy for Dumbledore, right? I know that the Dark Lord trusts him more than most, so I don't see why he wouldn't be aware of what Draco's up to..." He ran fingers through his hair and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "He's a greasy git and looks like a demented bat, but I reckon he would have told Dumbledore as much as he could."

Hermione thought about that for a long time. "So, you think Dumbledore already knows...then what's he doing? He hasn't made any obvious moves to stop Draco's plans...all he's been doing is telling Harry about He Who Must Not Be Named's past...I don't understand."

Sirius shrugged. "No one ever understands what that old man is thinking."

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

Harry sat perfectly still for a long time after Hermione had told him what she had discovered. He stared at nothing, thinking it through.

"So...Sirius is on their side now?" Ron asked slowly. "He's gone over..."

"No, he's being forced to do it, Ron. He would never willingly betray Harry." Hermione corrected him.

"I don't know Hermione, he's not the most stable of people..."

"Well...no, you're right, he's not very stable...but I still think he would die for Harry. He told me about Malfoy's plans and he confessed everything, he's risking his life for that."

Harry said nothing, Hermione saw the sadness on his face and felt pity well up in her chest. "I have to talk to him...And I have to stop Draco." He said finally, he looked at his friends.

"You don't have to do anything Harry, Sirius has already risked so much just to tell me this...don't throw away all his efforts by associating with him again."

"But I can't leave it! Not like this!" He stood up and began pacing. "If Dumbledore already knows then that's one less thing we need worry about, but I still have to stop Draco, if Death Eaters get into Hogwarts it would mean disaster, even if I'm not the target this time."

"How are you going to stop him, Harry? You don't even know how he's doing it!" Ron said.

Harry paused and sighed, messing his hair up absently as his mind raced. He wanted to talk to Sirius, he wanted to hear it from his own lips. He had to see him. The idea consumed him, he couldn't escape the sharp and brutal need for Sirius. Without speaking to his friends he turned and crawled into the portrait hole, he ignored Hermione's shouts and ran through the corridors, taking the short cuts until he found himself at the steps leading down to the dungeons. With his hand on the cold stone he began to descend, torches flickered in their sconces and sent shadows dancing. He walked slowly, keeping an eye out for anyone patrolling.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw someone moving. There were a few fast steps and something was on him, he was rammed into the wall and hands were clutching at his robes. Sirius bowed his head and pressed it against his chest as he balled his fists into Harry's robes and sank to his knees, pulling Harry with him. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." He was shaking violently and Harry was shocked to see his shoulders shaking as he held back his pain.

"Sirius..." He pulled his hands free and lifted his head, Sirius' silver eyes were glittering in his pale face. "It's true then...?"

Sirius nodded slowly, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I-I didn't want to..."

"It's..." He wanted to tell him it was ok, he wanted to let him know that it didn't matter because it wasn't his fault...but as he gazed into his eyes the words stuck in his throat as he recalled what Remus had told him, those words that he had pushed to the back of his mind. It was true, he didn't know Sirius at all, could he trust him even after discovering he had been told to seduce him? "I..."

Sirius fell back into the opposite wall, he lowered his head. "You shouldn't be here Harry, you need to go..."

"Sirius...can I trust you?" Harry gazed at him desperately, searching for some sign, some kind of expression that would tell him what he wanted...what he _needed_ to know.

Slowly Sirius lifted his head and looked into Harry's eyes. "I wish you could."

Harry bit his lip and nodded stiffly. "Right...I...Well...see you..." He turned on his heel and walked away.

Sirius watched him leave, the torches guttered in their holders as he slipped to the floor and lowered his head. It was too late, he couldn't take back what he had done and Harry needed to stay away from him now, he was endangering him by association. Voldemort used those closest to his enemies to destroy them, why should he be the exception to that rule? The less Harry had to do with him the better things would be. He stood slowly and wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he steeled his resolve. He knew exactly what he had to do, he had to come up with a plan, he had to stop everything. Only he could make Harry Potter truly safe...and to do that he needed Dumbledore.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: A nice long chapter for you now, this is pretty sad, but needs to be written. :( Things can't go well forever... (I apologise, I fucked up when I uploaded it the first time so if you got an alert and it disappeared again I had to delete it and re-upload...sorry.)

"_**It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend."**____**  
**__**―**____**William Blake**_

Dumbledore sat behind his desk when the knock came, he looked up from the parchment he was reading. "Enter." The door opened to reveal Sirius Black. "Sirius, you are risking much by speaking to me, it must be serious...sit."

Sirius glanced at the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, he appeared to be asleep but Sirius saw him open an eye. He looked away and clenched his hands into fists. "Dumbledore, you know Draco's going to try and kill you."

Dumbledore sat down, eyeing Sirius carefully. "And how do you come by this information?"

"Draco told me." He sat down feeling the eyes of his ancestor on him, he hated that portrait, he had been subjected to too many snide comments from it. "But you also know that I'm being used by the Malfoy's and the Dark Lord as a distraction for Harry."

"I will admit to being made aware of this, why are you here?"

Sirius licked his lips nervously before taking a breath. "I want to know if it is possible to return me to my own time, has there been anything that could help? Any information? I want to go back...I have to."

Dumbledore surveyed Sirius over the tops of his fingers for a long moment. "The ministry have doubled their efforts to look into it, I have asked them to keep it secret but they are researching. What caused this sudden change of heart?"

Sirius looked away for a second. "I don't belong here." He said softly, which was true enough. "I'm supposed to be dead...I-I know my life is going to be short...but I have to go back. I can't stay."

"I see. Then I shall make sure the Ministry redouble their efforts. But there is something else..."

Sirius sat up straighter. "I can give you information on what the Dark Lord's doing, sir. I can tell you what I've seen and I can help you save yourself...Just...just help Harry. Protect him."

"I have my own sources for gathering such information, I would not ask a child to spy that would be folly."

"You have Snape, sir...I know, but there are some things only a Black will be able to tell you."

"I say! You can't be giving away family secrets, boy!"

"Phineas, enough." Dumbledore calmed the portrait who had suddenly stopped pretending to sleep in his outrage. "How would you be able to gain more information from the Dark lord than my other source?"

Sirius smirked. "My cousin's his right hand, sir. Bella would be willing to teach me anything if I asked..."

Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I can guess at the things she's 'taught' you already, Sirius, you are sixteen, I have no wish to place you in such peril. Bellatrix is mad, why would she trust you?"

"Like you said, she's taught me...things...before. I could become very useful for her, she's said that she would be willing to train me properly...I will be able to tell you anything, things that Snape can't."

"No, Sirius. I will not ask that of you."

Sirius sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "Yes sir."

"You're already risking much to be here, return to your common room and I promise you we will send you back to your time as soon as is conceivably possible."

Sirius stood and nodded. "Thank you sir..." He muttered and walked away.

The month passed too slowly for Sirius, he was turning seventeen but there was little to no excitement in him. He knew what it would mean and the memory of Lucius' cold laughter and smug smile haunted him until he was unable to sleep at night, he watched Harry from a distance as often as he could, but Draco was always nearby.

Once when he came up from the dungeons he saw Harry walking with his friends into the Great Hall, Harry stopped when Hermione nudged him and their eyes met across the hall. Sirius bit his lip, his gut twisting viciously and threatening to make him sick, then, to make matters worse he felt someone stood close behind him. "Missing your previous owner, dog?"

Harry watched Draco's hands as they slipped possessively around Sirius' waist, his eyes darkened and he adjusted his bag before turning and walking away. Sirius lowered his head. "If you hurt him Malfoy I'll kill you." He hissed through his teeth.

"You couldn't kill anyone, Black, you don't have it in you."

Sirius lifted his head and looked into Draco's eyes. He had a snarl on his face that resembled that of his alter-ego, he pushed Draco into the wall and watched in satisfaction as his eyes widened. He planted his hand firmly on the wall beside Draco's head and leaned close. "I am more than capable of murder, Malfoy! Don't you _dare_ underestimate me! I am, after all, Bella's cousin. Do you think she wouldn't tell me some secrets? We've spent plenty of time together long before you were born...I know more spells than you will ever learn thanks to Cissy's reluctance to teach you dangerous magic, I could kill you in so many ways the only problem would be deciding which...do we have an understanding?" Draco gazed into those eyes and swallowed before nodding jerkily. Sirius backed away just as their fellow Slytherin's were walking up the stairs, his smile was dark as he turned from the blond and began making his way to his lessons.

His seventeenth dawned as wet and wintery as any other day, he woke in the cold dungeon dorm and spent a while gazing up at the canopy above his bed. When he heard his fellow Slytherin's stirring he sat up and gently touched the mark on his neck. With a sigh he climbed out of bed.

After he had showered he stood before the mirror and brushed out his hair slowly, he caught sight of Draco behind him. "Happy birthday dog, I got you something." Sirius raised an eyebrow and watched Draco's reflection as he held up a green and silver collar.

"Oh, that's funny..." He said sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. "As if James wasn't the first to buy me a collar as soon as we found our Animagus forms..."

"But this one will suit you much better." Draco grinned nastily and put it around Sirius' throat. "The colours match your eyes..." he said as he tightened it.

Sirius winced. "You trying to choke me?" He gasped.

"I wish." Draco muttered as he released the collar and admired it, he ran a finger down Sirius' neck. "Would you ware it outside?"

"No. I'm not that stupid." Sirius undid it and let it fall from his hands. "The only person to ever get me to wear a collar was James Potter, and that one was crimson and gold." He turned and went to his trunk before pulling out some robes to wear.

"But soon you'll always be wearing a collar, Black...only it's one you can't see. What was it my father said? At midday the spell will come into affect..."

"I know." Sirius muttered, clutching his throat absently as he dreaded the moment. "I was there when he cast the damned thing..." He remembered the horrible sense of suffocation, the terrible feeling of icy fingers clutching at his throat...he would have to remember to leave any public areas when the spell was completed. It had been cast so that as soon as he turned seventeen, at midday precisely he would be bound to the Malfoy's for the rest of his life. Draco was right, he would be wearing a collar of iron soon enough, and already he could feel the weight of it dragging him down.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

Harry sat in his lessons feeling depressed. He couldn't even find it within himself to try and discover how Draco would sneak these Death Eaters into the school, he watched Sirius from a distance, but Malfoy was always nearby and he couldn't speak to him. He hadn't realised just how much joy Sirius had brought him and now he wished that he had remained ignorant to his plans, it was much too hard to watch him and know that he was now one of the Dark lord's pets. He despised the smug look Malfoy got when they were in close proximity, and if Sirius was with him he would make sure of letting Harry know who he belonged to, Sirius merely seemed to ignore the possessiveness preferring to simply walk away than let Malfoy have the satisfaction of showing off, but still Harry found himself at night trying to stop his imagination of conjuring graphic mental images of Malfoy and Sirius in bed.

During their next defence lesson Harry was gazing despondently across the room when he saw movement from the corner of his eye, everyone turned to stare at Sirius who had stood up. Snape turned and gazed at him with a stern frown. "What is it now Black?"

"Sir, can I go? I-I need to leave..." His eyes flicked to the clock and back to Snape's face.

Harry frowned, he looked paler, dark circles ringed his eyes and he was shaking. "And why would you need to leave before we have even started this lesson?"

"I just do. Please, sir."

Snape was silent a moment as his eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, both hands were nearly on twelve, to Harry's shock he nodded. "As you will, but I want you return when you have completed your...business."

Sirius nodded and fled, people began muttering and Hermione met Harry's eyes, she was just as worried as he was.

Sirius ran down the corridors before finding and empty class room where he collapsed with a gasp, he fell to his knees, bruising them but that was suddenly engulfed as he felt his throat constrict. He bowed his head and gasped in a breath, but it stuck. He tried to draw in a whole breath but found he couldn't, his cheeks became flushed as he coughed and tried to breathe, his hand clasped his throat as a gentle glow emanated from his neck. His skin burned as if his neck had been wreathed in flame, he shuddered and began to see black spots bloom across his vision as his lungs worked overtime to get his body breathing again. He was suffocating. Panic tore through him as he choked and fell onto all fours. His lungs clenched painfully before suddenly he fell forward into darkness.

Harry sat there, tapping his quill absently on his parchment, suddenly he stood.

"What is it Mr. Potter?" Snape snapped. "You are supposed to be writing..."

"Toilet, sir." Harry said and ran for the door before Snape could call him back. He ran down the corridor, checking class room after classroom before finally he found him.

Sirius was lying on the floor, his hands twitched by his head and he appeared to be unconscious, Harry swore and fell to his side, lifting him up and rolling him onto his back. His face was white, ebony hair a strange contrast to his skin. His lips had a blue tinge to them and Harry clearly saw a bright red mark encircling his throat like someone had placed a burning collar around his neck. "Sirius...!" He gasped as he looked down at him, Harry felt his heart clench in panic but before he could so much as move Sirius gasped, his eyes flew open and he began coughing and retching violently. He rolled away from Harry so he was on all fours as he regained his breath.

"Ow..." Sirius rasped, wincing at his raw throat. He coughed sending more agony through his body. Slowly he turned to see Harry who was gazing at his neck, he cleared his throat with a wince. "How bad...?" He asked.

"J-just a line...what happened? Why were you on the floor?"

Sirius straightened and lowered his head. "It's Dark Magic, it binds a person to someone else for as long as they live. It means that...that I belong to the Malfoys..."

"Magical Enslavement, Potter, do you like it? It's a birthday present from my father." Draco stood leaning against the wall with a smile. Sirius shot him a heated glare as he climbed to his feet, he stumbled slightly but caught himself on the desk with his head bowed. "Now he has to do everything I say, my own control spell failed so my father did a new one." Malfoy grinned and stepped up to Sirius, he reached out and tipped his head up with a finger under his chin. "Watch him do some tricks for me, Potter...let's see how well you trained him. Black, kiss me."

Sirius' eyes widened and he tried to pull back but felt a terrible tightening in his throat, as if someone had a hand there. His body moved before he could prevent it and he pressed his lips to Draco's. "Please stop." He muttered as Draco pulled away with a smile. Sirius didn't dare look at Harry, he didn't want to see his face, if he did he thought it would kill him.

"You see, Potter? Your pet has deserted you. He's mine now. Such an obedient dog...I expect I could ask him to climb onto his knees and give me a blow-job in front of you. Would you like that, Puppy?" He drew Sirius close and saw the panic there. "Would you like to suck me off in front of your lover?"

"Let him go Malfoy, he's not a toy!"

Sirius turned his head to see Harry stood up and pointing his wand directly into Draco's face. "Harry...don't. He's not worth it, you could be expelled." Sirius said, he stepped up to him and pushed his wand down by his side. "Just...just leave it. I'm fine...I can look after myself." He smiled and touched Harry's cheek. "It has to be this way, but it won't be for long. Just...just look after yourself."

"But Siri..."

"I'm fine." He turned away and walked to the door. "We're supposed to be in Lesson." He muttered vaguely and pushed open the door.

Harry watched him leave feeling empty. He knew that look in his eyes, he knew that Sirius had basically left him for good. Malfoy sniggered and strode off, Harry let him go and collapsed into a chair. He bowed his head and covered his face with his hands.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

Sirius closed his eyes tightly, erasing Draco from his vision. He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to do anything but hope that somehow Dumbledore found a way to reverse it, he had told him what had happened and Dumbledore had taken a few moments to look him over before telling him that he would work out how to undo the spell. But that had been two weeks ago and he had yet to find anything, so Sirius was stuck with having to be treated like a pet whore. He gritted his teeth and bore it, never speaking and never looking directly into Draco's eyes. He felt disgusted with himself, he was tainting himself and yet he couldn't refuse any orders, not anymore. Not from a Malfoy. He had not told Draco that actually the spell bound him to anyone with the Malfoy name, he let Draco dream.

Afterwards he showered, scrubbing his skin and hiding his tears in the water from the shower head.

The months dragged on, it became a monotonous pattern of darkness. Harry tried to keep his thoughts from straying to Sirius, but he couldn't. Even while Ron and Hermione discussed ways in which they could help, Harry didn't participate, he had seen the look in Sirius' eyes...eyes that had lost their glitter and were now little more than blank iron. Sirius' face gave nothing away, he kept it all hidden behind all his shields and masks, but Harry knew it must have been killing him.

Winter drew into spring, and Harry found that his only real escape was when he was flying, he could leave all his troubles on the ground when he was in the air. But as soon as his feet touched the ground again he was brought back to reality with a resounding crash.

One night Sirius couldn't stand it anymore, being away from Harry was like having a limb ripped off and so he developed a plan. He sat on his bed and wrote a quick note to Harry, he did a bit of complicated magic and it disappeared in a rush of purple fire.

Harry lay on his bed, arms behind his head as Ron was discussing tactics for their next Quidditch game when there was a strange _whoomf_ noise as if someone had set fire to something. He sat upright and saw a note lying on his bed, quickly he picked it up and ripped it open.

_Harry,_

_I can't stand this anymore, meet me in the Entrance Hall at Midnight. I have to see you._

_Sirius._

Sirius looked at the time and saw that it was ten o'clock. He stood and rummaged in his trunk, withdrawing a tiny bottle full of pale blue liquid, he smiled as he stood and pocketed it. When Malfoy entered it was to find Sirius alone on his bed, he was topless and his jeans half way undone he smiled lazily at Malfoy who gazed at his body hungrily. "What are you waiting for, Draco?" He whispered huskily. "I thought you'd like it if I came to your bed willingly? Or would you prefer it if I was naked? Tell me what you want Master..." He dropped his voice as he traced a finger down his chest slowly and watched Draco's eyes glitter as he moved forward quickly, Sirius pulled him closer by the scruff of his robes and kissed him. He closed his eyes and let his body do the work while he concentrated on thoughts of Harry. He grabbed Draco's hand and moved it down his body, arching his back as he used his tongue to gain a long groan from the blond. He pulled away and saw a flush on Draco's cheeks as he panted slightly, Sirius smiled. "I want to make this interesting, Draco, can I show you something?" Draco seemed incapable of speech so he nodded instead, Sirius released him and reached into his bedside draw pulling out the little vial of blue liquid. He shook it. "It's an Aphrodisiac, it will enhance our fun...what do you say?" His whole plan revolved on this moment, if Draco refused to use the potion he would be forced to do something drastic. Luckily Draco wasn't thinking with his big head, he nodded stiffly. Sirius smirked and rolled them both over so he was straddling the Blonds hips, he pulled the cork from the bottle and filled his mouth with some of it. He leaned over Draco and their lips met, he felt Draco's hands in his hair as he opened his mouth and let the liquid pour into him. When Draco swallowed he pulled away with a smirk so wide it revealed his pointed canine teeth, Draco looked up at him and slowly he frowned. "Do you like it? It's a paralysis potion you idiot..." He laughed as Draco's eyes moved but the rest of his body was still, panic filled those grey eyes and Sirius leaned over him so his nails dug into Draco's chest and his long hair tickled his face. "I know you'll make me pay for this, but it is going to be worth it...this is what you get for underestimating me, Malfoy." He leaned closer and licked at his lips before drawing away again and sliding off of him. "Have fun there, oh, don't worry it'll ware off soon so you won't have a boner forever." He laughed and walked to his trunk to get a jumper.

Harry paced up and down in the darkness, wandering if he was doing the right thing. He shouldn't be trusting Sirius, not anymore, but he couldn't go another minute without at least speaking to him. As he paced he remembered the despair in his eyes and shuddered, no, he would have to find a way to free him, there wasn't any other choice. He refused to let the Malfoy's destroy him.

"Harry!"

Harry spun on his heels as feet padded his way, the shadows moved apart and revealed Sirius. He smiled and that awful look had gone from his eyes, they sparkled as he launched himself at Harry, grabbing him and pushing him into the wall. They shared a few breaths before Harry kissed him, their hands tangled in each other's hair and their soft gasps filled the empty hall. "Fuck...I missed you." Harry muttered against Sirius' mouth. He tasted of something similar to Muggle Parma Violets, but it was nice as he deepened the kiss he felt Sirius respond with a passion that rendered all their other encounters obsolete. It was a second before he realised that Sirius' cheeks were wet, he drew away to see tears spilling from his eyes and down his cheeks. He wiped them away with his thumb as Sirius fell to his knees, his hands gripping Harry's robes.

"Forgive me, Harry. I never wanted to hurt you..."

"I know." Harry knelt before him and lifted his head. "Hermione may have found something..." When Sirius looked confused he ran a finger along the faded red mark on his throat and Sirius' eyes widened like saucers. "We think we can free you but it..."

"It's Dark Magic...isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Harry looked crestfallen.

"What's the cost? Dark Magic always has a cost..."

"Here..." Harry handed him a small book, Sirius took it and scanned the heading.

"Where did Hermione find this?" He glanced at Harry who shrugged. "It can't have been in the library, not even the restricted section would have it...but it is a very useful book none the less..."He frowned while scanning the pages, then he paused. "This is the exact spell that Lucius Malfoy used...and it has the counter curse..." His eyes widened and he looked up at Harry. "It needs blood...but it needs to be blood from the person who is in love with the victim..." He looked down at the book again, avoiding Harry's eyes, he wasn't sure if he wanted Harry to confess, he wasn't even sure if Harry felt that strongly for him. The silence was awkward as Harry shifted and the silence spun into infinity.

"W-Why..." Harry cleared his throat irritably. "Why would it need to be love?"

"Because Love is the most powerful kind of magic in the world, it's so pure that it can undo any kind of magic..." He looked up finally and Harry saw that he was blushing, that took him aback slightly and he looked away quickly. "It's...it's the only thing that can undo it...erm...so..." He trailed off into silence and hung his head. "I...I suppose I had better get back...I mean, Draco's...paralysed and I mean...well..." He struggled with something before his shoulders slumped and he stood. "Tell Hermione thanks...a-and I'll see you around...I suppose..." He was on his feet and almost running in the opposite direction before Harry had found the courage to speak, instead he sat there, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. Finally the shock wore off and he smacked himself roughly in the forehead; "_I_ love you...! Stupid bloody idiot, open your mouth next time!"

Sirius returned to the dorm and saw that Malfoy was only just recovering, so he locked the book away in his trunk and sat down on Malfoy's bed, his eyes were dark and he could see the anger in Draco's own. He sighed heavily as he watched Draco's hands twitch. "I suppose that means you want to kill me?" he smiled dispassionately. "Well, I don't think your father would be too pleased about that...but I suppose I can give you what you wanted before I tricked you...I've got nothing better to do." With that he stripped off just as the potion wore off on Draco, he was grabbed roughly, his arm twisted up his back until he thought it was going to break as his face was pushed roughly into the pillows.

"You think you can get away with making a fool out of me? I'll make you pay for that." He unbuckled his belt, still holding Sirius down with his arm. "Not a word, hear me?" Sirius nodded and a sharp gasp escaped him as pain drove a spike deep into his abdomen, but he closed his eyes and thought only of Harry, even when his tears fell he ignored them in favour of those green eyes inside his head.


	21. Chapter 21

AN: And another chappy for hungry eyes. :D This is now getting to crux, all hell is soon to break loose! So, enjoy and any reviews will be much loved. I am so happy with every single one I have so far...I honestly never expected to get so many when I started writing it. Thank you, thank you and thank you again! I am muchly happy! :D Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing!

_**Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives.**__** - **__**C. S. Lewis**_

The end of May brought sunshine and the smells of summer to the Grounds of Hogwarts, Sirius stood on the top of the Astronomy tower and gazed out across the familiar scenery, he was smiling as he heard feet on the stair well.

"Sirius...?"

He turned and faced Harry. "Well, I didn't think you'd come."

"Of course I would, why wouldn't I? Where's Draco?"

"In the Hospital Wing with a case of horrific stomach cramps." Sirius giggled as he dragged Harry close and kissed him gently.

"You're poisoning him...aren't you?"

Sirius pulled away and shrugged. "It's not going to kill him."

"Sirius...that's..."

"Evil? Cruel? Harry...I can be extremely cruel when I want to be. But I am more than capable of kindness as well, I thought you knew me."

"So did I." Harry sighed and extracted himself from Sirius' fingers. "Hermione's been bugging me about this spell...she doesn't think it's a good idea to do it..."

"Hermione doesn't have to get involved." Sirius turned away and leaned on the parapet, pushing hair from his eyes as the cool breeze picked it up. "This is Dark Magic Harry, and it is addictive. Trust me..." He gazed down at the tiny figures of the other students. "You don't have to...if you're really uncomfortable with it..."

"Is this the only way to free you?"

"Yeah."

"Then...there's no choice." Harry took a shaky breath. "I-I'll do whatever it takes, Sirius. I want to free you."

Sirius smiled and turned around. "Then meet me in the room of requirement tonight, Draco won't have recovered by then. I can get hold of the stuff we will need and you only need to bring yourself. Just...don't tell anyone what we're doing, if we're caught..."

"Yeah, I know." Harry smiled nervously.

"It'll be fine, Harry. I...I've done this kind of thing before." His eyes darkened. "Trust me."

"I do...although I have no idea why."

That evening Harry found himself outside the stretch of blank wall opposite the tapestry of the Trolls, who watched him curiously as he paced back and forth before the wall. When he stopped after the third turn he saw a large door appear, he opened it and stepped into a huge empty space. Candles floated near the ceiling and he saw Sirius standing in the middle of the room, his hair falling elegantly into his steel coloured eyes and a small, almost cruel smile on his lips. "Before we begin, are you sure about this, Harry?"

"As sure as I'll ever be." Harry replied nervously. He looked around and saw a large circle had been drawn on the floor in red chalk, symbols were written around it and Sirius stood at its centre with the same red chalk dusting his fingers.

"Good. Then do exactly as I say...don't hesitate, because if you do then it'll go wrong. And make sure you know your intent, intent is the key to dark magic, you need to _mean_ everything. Understand?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Then we'll begin." Sirius said softly. "Right..." He took a shuddery breath. "There's a silver knife on the table, pick it up and bring it into the circle." Harry did as instructed, when he stepped over the red chalk line he felt a tingle race up his spine he shivered and looked back over his shoulder, everything seemed normal. "Harry...concentrate." Sirius said gently, taking his hand and guiding him closer, they gazed into each other's eyes for a long while until Sirius took Harry's wrist and guided the blade to his own hand. "Cut deep and precise." He whispered, his eyes glittering oddly in the candle light, his hands shook almost imperceptibly. Harry nodded and turned Sirius' palm over, he took a sharp breath and pressed the blade into the flesh, Sirius winced but not a sound escaped his lips as Harry drew a long and deep line across his hand, he then repeated it on the other. "Do the same to yours." Sirius whispered, they were so close they could feel each other's body heat. The blade flashed as it bit deep into Harry's own hand, once he had cut into both his own hands he looked into Sirius' eyes. "Right...now..." Sirius lifted his hands, palms outward and Harry clasped them in his own. Their blood mingled and dripped slowly down their wrists, splashing on the floor. Harry felt a shiver rip through his body as Sirius leaned close. "Say it." He muttered, lips brushing Harry's. "Tell me what I need to hear, Harry."

Harry swallowed and closed his eyes. "Sirius Black, I free you from the Malfoy's using my blood which carries the love I bear you." He whispered, putting all his feelings behind those words.

There was a sound, like a light bulb popping and suddenly Sirius gasped, his fingers tightened on Harry's and he could still feel the blood running down his wrists. When he opened his eyes he saw Sirius' own glowing in the gloom, half the candles had gone out and he was shaking. He felt pressure building in his chest, as a wind with no apparent source blew through the hall, whipping their robes and hair about them. Without thought Harry closed the gap between them and kissed Sirius hard on the mouth, their groans were drowned out by the noise of something snapping. A sudden explosion of pleasure erupted in his gut making him gasp into Sirius' mouth, he pressed himself closer. He felt Sirius released his hands and slip his arms around his waist, he pulled him closer and kissed him with as much passion as he ever had. The pressure increased and he felt a wave intense passion sweep through his body, almost ripping the breath from him, he pushed Sirius to the floor and finally drew away, he was panting heavily and saw that Sirius had a tiny trickle of blood coming from where Harry must have bitten his lip. His hair fell across his face but it was his eyes that drew him, they were bright, almost too bright and a fine sheen of sweat had broken out on his brow slowly that small smile appeared and he licked the blood away slowly.

"Mm...Well...I'm free now." He said softly, pushing fingers through Harry's hair. He touched his throat where the red mark had been and his smile widened. "You did it, Harry."

Harry felt a small smile of his own light his face and he leaned down kissing Sirius gently, "It was..."

"Good, yeah?" Sirius breathed, as he allowed his hand to slip down Harry's chest. "This is why Death Eaters do it...this is what makes it so dangerous. Welcome to the Dark side Harry Potter." He giggled as Harry grabbed his hair and pulled him in for another searing kiss. "Mm...but that wasn't such a bad spell, it was pretty tame, the only reason it's illegal is because it uses blood."

Harry frowned and pulled away slightly. "Is that it? I thought..."

"You thought it would be dangerous? Not really. If it hadn't have worked I'd have had to put up with being under the Malfoy's control for a bit longer, that's all." He laughed at Harry's incredulous expression. "Harry, I wouldn't let you do anything really Dark, I like you just the way you are. You don't need to be dragged into my world...keep your innocence for as long as possible."

"I've used an unforgivable curse." Harry muttered. "On your cousin."

Sirius smiled. "What, the Cruciatus? Harry, she told me you were useless at it."

He pouted. "You have to mean it, yeah, I know."

"But, if you didn't mean the words you said here it wouldn't have worked." He gazed into those bright green eyes for a long while, absorbing the moment and storing it away forever. "You...you really do love me, don't you?"

"Yes." Harry looked back and smiled softly.

With a devious smirk Sirius dragged Harry's head down to his and parted his lips for his tongue. He slid his hands downwards and began fumbling with the button of his jeans, his fingers still slippery with blood. "Harry..." he gasped as Harry pulled away to help him and shed his robes. "Harry, I need you. I need you to say it again..."

"I love you." He replied, his voice made hoarse by his dry throat as he opened his trousers and tugged down Sirius' own. "Sirius..."

Pleasure exploded inside Sirius as Harry moved above him, his hands planted on either side of his head. They gazed into each other's eyes, Sirius swearing softly as a moan escaped him. "Harry...Harry..." He chanted under his breath until Harry leaned down and kissed him, swallowing his moans and cries. It wasn't long before he felt that glorious stab of heat twist his gut, he arched his back, his fingers tangling in Harry's clothing as his eyes snapped shut and he came.

They lay there for some time afterwards, both breathing hard as they regained their senses. Harry broke the silence. "Well...that was intense..." He muttered as he turned his head to look at Sirius who was smiling like a contented cat.

"I'm good." He replied with a chuckle.

"I know." Harry pulled him in for another probing kiss before they broke apart again.

When Harry returned to his dorm he was greeted by Ron who was sat up in bed. "Well?" He asked, leaning forward, blue eyes burning with curiosity. "What was it like? You did it right? That spell...?"

Harry walked to his own bed and sat down. "It was...different."

"Different how?"

"It was much more intense than normal magic, like...I don't know...we just kind of exchanged blood." He shrugged.

"How do you feel? Any different?"

"A little...But it wasn't a particularly bad spell or anything, apparently most Dark Magic requires sacrifice, but all this one needed was blood. But it did feel good...amazing actually..." He smiled slightly and adjusted his glasses.

"W-would you...do it again?" Ron asked carefully. "Hermione's worried, she reckons you'll get in too deep and not be able to get back out again."

"Hermione's worrying over nothing, I'm fine."

"But what about Sirius?"

Harry frowned at that. "I...I don't know. Even Remus told me that Sirius was into Dark Magic from an early age...I doubt he'd use it for anything though. Knowing is totally different to actually doing it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess. Well, glad you're alright mate." Ron smiled and yawned. "Night."

"G'night." Harry fell asleep quickly, feeling exhausted but satisfied as he dreamed of Sirius with a small smile on his face.

XXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"Sirius, where have you been?" Draco demanded when Sirius got into the Slytherin Dorm.

"Why do you care? And when did you get out of the Hospital Wing?" He replied pulling off his robes and throwing them vaguely towards his trunk, they missed by half a meter.

"Madam Pomfrey dimissed me when she had worked out that I was being poisoned...I was given an antidote."

"Oh really? How nice." Sirius muttered as he pulled down his trousers, his hands were still covered in blood and he picked up a towel and began moving towards the shower in little more than his boxers.

"Why are you bleeding?" Draco asked, catching up to him and grabbing his hands. He frowned down at them. "What...what have you done?" He asked lifting his eyes to meet Sirius'.

Sirius was smirking. "You think you're the only one who knows things, Malfoy? Come on, you're talking to the heir to the most ancient and noble house of Black here. I can get out of just about any situation if I try."

He watched Draco grab his hair and move it roughly away from his neck. "You...you broke the spell...!"

"Yes I did. And be grateful I didn't go the other root for breaking such a powerful enchantment, Draco..."

"Which was...?"

"Murder." Sirius grinned and Draco stepped backwards on impulse. "Yeah, didn't think Harry'd take too kindly to that one so I went with the whole blood thing...less sure, but worked this time."

"Potter did this? You...You can only break this spell with something more powerful...what did you use?"

"Love." Sirius chuckled at Draco's doubtful expression. "It's a sure-fire way to undo the majority of Dark curses and enchantments, your parents really have taught you nothing, haven't they? Poor kid, I have no idea how you're going to complete this task the Dark lord set you...you're a pathetic excuse for a pureblood."

"Watch your tongue, Black!" Draco snarled angrily.

"Oh, does it piss you off that I'm better than you? Or is it...oh I see, it's that even Harry was willing to try a branch of Magic that you're much too scared to use...isn't it?" He pushed Draco against the wall, tipping his head to the side and grinning. "You're too funny, Draco. I would so dearly _love_ to chat a while longer but I have to clean myself up..."

"You smell of him." Draco whispered.

"I know, good isn't it? _I _have Harry Potter, the one thing not even the Dark Lord will ever have...and you most certainly won't." With a sharp laugh he went to take his shower.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

The sun shone down on the four teenagers, Sirius lay with his arms beneath his head as he gazed up at the clouds, Harry lay at his side while Hermione leaned against the trunk of the tree and read and Ron dozed quietly. They were surrounded by sounds of chattering students and buzzing insects, the scents of summer blew over them on a cool breeze. Sirius had his shirt sleeves rolled up and his green and silver tie hanging loose around his neck, Harry had removed his robes and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Abyssopelagic..." Sirius said, causing Harry to turn his head awkwardly and raise a curious eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's a good word, isn't it?"

"I...suppose so."

"Abyssopelagic; of, like or pertaining to the depths of the ocean...I like saying it. It's almost as good as zabaglione which is a frothy custard..."

Harry giggled. "You're so weird."

"I know, and proud of it." Sirius laughed.

"I've always liked the word Ictus." Hermione said softly, being drawn out of her book by their laughter.

"What's that?"

"Stress in poetry or verse."

"Oh..." Sirius watched a cloud float lazily past, birds whirled in the sky and he smiled softly feeling perfectly content to never move again.

"...Spiders!" Ron sat upright suddenly and gazed around blearily. "What...? Where am I?"

"Outside, Ron. The spiders are in the forest." Harry said with a yawn.

"Oh..." He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, didn't get too much sleep last night."

After a moment of silence Hermione put her book aside. "Have any of you ever thought about Marriage?" She asked absently.

"Marriage?" All three boys chorused, sounding as horrified as if she'd just suggested they snog the giant squid.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, Marriage, not enslavement."

"Same thing." Sirius said wrinkling his nose in distaste. "One of the reasons my mother decided it was high time she disown me was because I refused to marry anyone...admittedly most of that was purely out of spite, but still...it is enslavement pure and simple."

"Like having a ball and chain stuck to your ankle..." Harry shuddered dramatically.

Ron simply shook his head. "What bought this on?" He asked.

"I was just thinking about your brother getting married..." She replied absently.

"Yeah, but if mum has her way it won't be happening."

"I don't know, Fleur seemed pretty determined to me." Harry said with a shrug as he rolled onto his front so he could face Hermione properly. "You thinking of getting married one day?"

"I don't know...It seems like a nice idea, but it's not very practical and the expenses must be enormous."

"Most girls tend to plan their weddings from the day they're born...all fluffy dresses and pink roses and doves and golden tiaras..." Sirius pulled a disgusted face. "If I ever did get married I'd knock the bride out first and get it over and done within ten seconds." He mimed signing a paper in mid air and grinned. "Done and dusted, no worries about flowers or any of that other stuff..."

They laughed loudly as the clouds passed overhead and the sun shone down upon their heads. The days passed in much the same way, Draco was seen only occasionally, he appeared to be avoiding Sirius and Harry which worked to their advantage as June closed in on them like a hot, sticky vice. They spent as much of their free time as they could kissing and making love, Sirius was a ball of raw passion, his eyes shone with lust and his hands were as greedy as his lips as he dragged Harry's mouth to his.

One evening Harry was sat dreaming by the fire when he spotted Ginny climbing from the portrait hole, she walked over to him and handed him a small scroll. Harry recognised it instantly as one from Dumbledore, he had been continuing his lessons with the Headmaster, even around all the other things he had been contending with, but there had been a rather long silence from him that had Harry worried at first but now he opened the scroll and read the neatly slanting script. He had, of course, explained to Harry about Horcruxes but he had made Harry tell no one but Ron and Hermione and now it appeared that Dumbledore had discovered a hiding place for one of them. He leapt to his feet.

"Harry?" Hermione looked up at him from her homework.

"It's Dumbledore..." Harry replied, his eyes glittering with excitement.

"He's found it?" Ron exclaimed but went quiet at a warning look from Hermione.

"Yeah...I have to go. If Sirius asks..."

"You're with Dumbledore at one of his special lessons, we know." Hermione assured him. He nodded and ran for the Portrait Hole.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

Sirius lazed on one of the Leather sofas, draped over it as if he owned it. The other Slytherin's had always treated him with a wary respect, and they tended to avoid him which suited him just fine. He had tied his hair back from his face and was scratching absently at a piece of Parchment with a quill, writing things, crossing things out again and re-writing it.

"The last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black, third of his name..."

Sirius jumped and glared at Malfoy who was peering over the back of the sofa curiously, his eyes were bright and he looked doubly pleased with himself. "What do you want, prick?" He snapped, hiding his will in his bag.

"I want you to come see something amazing, Black. I want you to bear witness to an act that will be talked about for centuries."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just come with me." He grabbed Sirius by the wrist and began frog marching him towards the door. "I have finally completed it!" He laughed as Sirius gaped stupidly at him. "They're coming soon..."

"Death Eaters?"

"Of course." Draco smiled like a snake. "And you told me it was impossible."


	22. Chapter 22

AN: Well, we appear to have reached the penultimate chapter! :O In this one I have once again brought it back around to canon, with some adaptations. I hope you enjoy and continue to read! :D It's not quite over until the Fat Lady sings. ;)

_**If it's natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how?**_  
_**- Joan Baez**_

The Room of Requirement was dark when Draco dragged Sirius into it, the two boys found the Cupboard easily and stood before it, Draco looked nervous as he shifted from one foot to the other and glanced at his watch. "They'll be here in a moment..." He said softly.

"Draco...everyone's asleep...but what if they wake up?" Sirius said.

"Nothing, they're only here to watch me kill Dumbledore they said they would leave the others alone."

Sirius rolled his eyes and leaned against a table, folding his arms across his chest. "And you honestly think they'll stick to that? Come on Draco, no one's that stupid."

"They won't defy orders..." He replied, sounding less sure.

They waited in silence, the very air seemed thick as Sirius breathed, he had no idea what to do, he couldn't stop the Death Eaters from getting inside the castle, and he was certainly going to be useless when they were let loose on the school. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes for a moment, then they heard it; voices from within the vanishing cabinet. They drew nearer and Sirius took a few paces backwards as the door opened to reveal the face of his cousin, Bella spotted him and smiled as she entered the room. Others followed, one after another until there was crowd of black cloaked figures, Sirius eyed them all, naming them in his head. Bellatrix, the Carrow's and several others. The last to emerge was a man covered in grey hair, his eyes were blue and Sirius immediately backed off as Greyback emerged.

"Wh-What's he doing here?" Draco asked nervously, pointing to the Werewolf.

"He wanted to come." Bella muttered, dismissing the question. "Why hello Sirius, it has been quite a while." She looked him up and down. "Does the stinking animal frighten you?"

"Not overly much, no..." Sirius said softly, eyeing Greyback with dark eyes. "But bringing him to a school full of children is stupid." He turned his gaze to his cousin.

"He is a disobedient dog at times, aren't you?" Bella said with a glance at the werewolf.

"I was promised prey, and I'm going to get it. Nice juicy little children." He met Sirius' gaze and eyed him hungrily, licking his lips obscenely.

"Ugh...you stink of blood." Sirius muttered, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, after this is done I am sure the Dark Lord won't begrudge you a tasty morsel..." Bella said looking at Sirius and smirking. "There are some who will soon have outgrown their uses."

"You would give me to him?" Sirius exclaimed pointing at Greyback furiously. "I am the Black heir...you can't just..."

"I can do whatever pleases me, cousin. You have broken the spell, which is impressive, but you have betrayed your blood...the Dark Lord has only one use for you and that is the title you bear. But soon enough, he won't have any need of even that."

"Once you kill Dumbledore." Sirius said stiffly as Greyback grinned and began circling him, he followed him with his eyes, keeping as still as a hunting dog. His lip peeled back from his teeth. "You would let this...this beast...kill me? The last remaining Black..."

"It does not matter. Come Draco, let us leave and get this over with." Bella moved towards the door, but paused and turned back. "Greyback, bring Sirius." Sirius felt his arm grabbed and twisted up his back, he bared his teeth in pain as he was pushed forward towards Bella. She smiled at him, stroking hair from his face almost tenderly. "Poor sweet little thing, I almost pity you." She laughed and flung open the door.

One of the Death Eaters ran ahead along with Draco to the Astronomy Tower, Sirius was dragged through the castle by the Werewolf, his nose full of his stench. He struggled but Greyback was stronger than him. "Don't try and escape my sweet, it won't do you any good." He breathed into Sirius' hair.

After a few turns they encountered someone in the hallway. Remus was walking their way, suddenly his head jerked upwards and his eyes widened. "Remus!" Sirius gasped as he was pushed to the floor. Remus lifted his wand and fired a curse, but he was outnumbered. A few Death Eaters broke off from their group and ran after him as he turned down a corridor, Sirius had to hope he would be alright.

The Astronomy Tower stairs appeared, Sirius was dragged up it before one of the Carrow's turned and sealed the staircase. They could hear shots and screams from behind them as the Order encountered the Barrier.

When they reached the top of the Astronomy tower Sirius' eyes were drawn immediately to a figure half crouched by the wall, his eyes widened as he realised it was Dumbledore. Draco held him at wand point but he was shaking badly, Sirius studied him as he was pushed forward and realised that he didn't want to do it. He wasn't going to be able to complete his mission. He searched the tower and saw two broomsticks by the wall, he frowned and began searching the area for the other person, but saw nothing. There could only be one person who could disguise themselves so thoroughly, Harry was up here with them.

"Dumbledore cornered!" Amycus Carrow said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who looked as though she could be his sister and who was grinning eagerly. "Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!"

"Good evening, Amycus," said Dumbledore calmly, as though welcoming the man to a tea party. "And you've brought Alecto too ... charming ..."

The woman gave an angry little titter. "Think your little jokes'll help you on your death bed, then?" she jeered.

"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore.

"Do it," said the stranger standing nearest to Harry, a big, rangy man with matted grey hair and whiskers, whose black Death Eater's robes looked uncomfortably tight. He had a voice like none that Harry had ever heard: a rasping bark of a voice. Harry could smell a powerful mixture of dirt, sweat and, unmistakeably, of blood coming from him. His filthy hands had long yellowish nails.

"Is that you, Fenrir?" asked Dumbledore.

"That's right," rasped the other. "Pleased to see me, Dumbledore?" He kept a tight hold on Sirius who winced slightly as the nails dug deep into his skin.

"No, I cannot say that I am ..." Dumbledore's gaze moved to Sirius and back again.

Fenrir Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely. "But you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore." He growled, leaning close to Sirius who shuddered as hands crept into his hair and that sickening smell threatened to make him vomit.

"Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual ... you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?"

"That's right," said Greyback. "Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?"

"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," said Dumbledore. "And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..."

"I didn't," breathed Malfoy. He was not looking at Greyback; he did not seem to want to even glance at him. "I didn't know he was going to come-"

Harry was frozen to the spot, helpless as he watched events unfold. He saw Sirius in the claws of Greyback. He wanted to cry out, to scream at Sirius to help Dumbledore, he was weak from that potion and there was no way he could defend himself from all these enemies. But Sirius was forced to his knees by the tatty looking man and he sat there, his head bowed as the Death Eaters talked and encouraged. Draco was hesitating, Harry knew he wasn't about to kill Dumbledore.

Sirius slowly lifted his head and looked up at the sky, the Dark Mark hung over them alerting everyone that murder was about to happen. The green light made everyone look ill as he looked around, ignoring the claws on his arm and that rancid breath on his face as the Werewolf tried to restrain his instinct to kill him. Harry was nowhere to be seen so he closed his eyes and began trying to locate him by scent, it was pointless, Greyback's stink overpowered any slighter scents and he reopened his eyes.

Malfoy was showing less resolution than ever. He looked terrified as he stared into Dumbledore's face, which was even paler, and rather lower than usual, as he had slid so far down the rampart wall.

"He's not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!" said the lopsided man, to the accompaniment of his sister's wheezing giggles. "Look at him-what's happened to you, then, Dumby?"

"Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus," said Dumbledore. "Old age, in short ... one day, perhaps, it will happen to you ... if you are lucky ..."

"What's that mean, then, what's that mean?" yelled the Death Eater, suddenly violent. "Always the same, weren't yeh, Dumby, talking and doing nothing, nothing, I don't even know why the Dark Lord's bothering to kill yeh! Come on, Draco, do it!"

But at that moment, there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, "They've blocked the stairs-Reducto! REDUCTO!"

Harry's heart leapt: so these four had not eliminated all opposition, but merely broken through the fight to the top of the Tower, and, by the sound of it, created a barrier behind them-

There were shouts from below and feet pounding the staircase, Sirius turned his head as Severus Snape came flying up onto the tower. Sirius watched with an impassive face as Snape aimed his wand at Dumbledore, the old man was slipping down the wall and pleading. A few words, a flash of green and it was over. Dumbledore's corpse flew over the edge of the Crenulations and fell.

Harry felt as though he too were hurtling through space; it had not happened... it could not have happened...

"Out of here, quickly," said Snape.

He seized Malfoy by the scruff of the neck and forced him through the door ahead of the rest; Greyback and the squat brother and sister followed, the latter both panting excitedly. As they vanished through the door, Harry realized he could move again. What was now holding him paralyzed against the wall was not magic, but horror and shock. He threw the Invisibility Cloak aside as the brutal-faced Death Eater, last to leave the tower top, was disappearing through the door.

Snape and Draco fled and Sirius was yanked roughly to his feet by the hair, he was pushed roughly against the stone as Greyback grinned at him, pulling his head back with his claws in his hair. "No..." Sirius hissed as he tried to force the Werewolf off of him while going for his wand with the other hand, then there was a shout and one of the Death Eaters still on the tower was thrown backwards. Greyback turned as Harry Potter stood behind him breathing hard. It was just the distraction Sirius needed. "Harry! Go after him!" He shouted and grinned. "He can't infect me...go!" Without another word he changed.

Where once there had been a boy there was now a massive black dog, it snarled viciously at the werewolf who backed off quickly. Padfoot lowered his head, emitting a low and steady growl. He stepped forward, claws tapping the stone. Harry stared in fascination as suddenly the dog leapt, colliding with Greyback and going for the throat, the werewolf grabbed his neck and began trying to wrestle with him. Padfoot barked and growled furiously, scratching, biting and fighting.

Harry backed off, and with one last glance at Sirius he spun on his heels and ran. He almost stumbled when he heard a loud yelp and a scream, but he ran on.

Sirius was forced out of his transformation as agony ripped through his side, Greyback and thrown him into the wall and he now lay at its foot, clutching his ribs and breathing hard through his teeth.

"Well, well, looks like someone has some experience fighting my kind." Greyback growled. "But doesn't look like you're quite strong enough yet, boy." He advanced slowly, keeping a wary eye on Sirius who slowly slipped his hand into his pocket. "Who was it then? Your packmate? I might know him."

"You do know me."

Sirius opened his eyes and saw Remus standing at the doorway, his wand pointing directly into Greyback's face. "Moony..." Sirius gasped, grabbing his wand and forcing himself to his feet, he leaned against the parapet gasping but grinning like a maniac.

"Sirius, go back down the stairs...find Harry and get out of here."

"Harry's..." he swallowed the pain, still gripping his side with his free hand as he panted. "Harry's gone after...Snape..."

"What? Why?" Remus glanced away from his enemy.

Sirius saw what was about to happen, his wand rose and he fired a curse at Greyback as he launched himself at Remus. The spell hit him in mid air and he fell to the floor with a long drawn out wail that sounded more like a howl. Remus shuddered but made sure that Greyback was unconscious before turning to Sirius and helping him to the floor, Sirius groaned and tipped his head back. "I'm sorry..." He whispered hoarsely, spitting blood to the floor.

"What for?" Remus asked, gently tugging away his tattered robes to reveal long scratches down his side. "You've suffered worse at my hands, you'll be fine." He said with a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry for...for everything." Sirius muttered smiling weakly. "I'm a git."

Remus chuckled. "No, you're not." Slowly he stood and helped Sirius to his feet, his eyes drifted upwards. "Who...?"

Sirius followed his gaze, the Dark Mark cast everything with a terrible greenish tinge. "Dumbledore." He said softly. Remus nearly dropped him as his knees threatened to throw him to the floor, pain rocketed up Sirius' side and he gasped.

"No...no you must be mistaken. H-He can't..."

"It's true and you knew it as soon as you saw that mark." Sirius sighed and leaned his head against his friend. "Dumbledore is dead."

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

Harry stood in the doorway of the Hospital Wing, the Order were there along with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Sirius sat up in bed with Remus at his side while Molly and Arthur stood by Bills bed. He was forced to confirm Sirius' story of Dumbledore's Death and the silence afterwards echoed through his empty chest.

Remus had lowered his head and buried his face in his hands, Tonks stood at his side and Sirius lay back with a soft sigh. Ron embraced Hermione who had broken down into tears while Molly and Arthur gazed down at their injured son. Grief seemed to become a physical presence and it weighed him down.

The next day Harry spent with Sirius. They sat with each other beneath a tree and spoke little, Harry was simply happy to have him at his side, their touches spoke more than words ever could. On the Afternoon before Dumbledore's funeral they were walking around the lake when Harry spoke.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Harry asked slowly.

"What do you mean?" Sirius replied, taking Harry's hand in his own.

"Well, schools over now...and...well...I was thinking that I won't be coming back next year."

Sirius nodded and looked up at the sky. "Well, ordinarily I would go and sort out my house, maybe I could even do it up enough to sell it...I'm not likely to live their again."

"What do you mean 'ordinarily'?" Harry shot him a suspicious glance and saw Sirius smile at him, he stopped and looked into those grey eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked suddenly, a tightness in his chest that threatened to suffocate him.

Sirius lifted his hand and stroked hair from Harry's eyes tenderly. "I'm not supposed to be here, Harry."

"But you are..."

He shook his head. "I'm not. I have to go back to my own time...I have to return to where I belong, with your father and Remus. I need to return to my friends..."

"B-But..."

"I'm sorry." He leaned over and kissed him slowly. "I've loved it, you know...being here with you. You changed me somehow..."

"You're...leaving me, aren't you?"

"I have no choice. The magic binding me here is wearing off, the Unspeakable's told me that they had worked out that the spell was only ever temporary...I have to leave. I'm going to miss you."

"I don't want you to go, Sirius! I-I can't lose you twice!"

"I'm sorry." Sirius sighed and looked at him, his eyes full of grief. "I don't have much time left but I want to spend it all with you."

Harry wrapped his arms around him and kissed him deeply, the sound of the wind on the lake soothed him slightly and the warmth of Sirius' body made him tingle pleasantly. They spent as much time as they could in each other's company, holding hands, talking quietly to one another and kissing. At night the Room of Requirement gave them privacy and a soft bed, their moans of pleasure filling the small room and echoing back at them.

On the day of Dumbledore's funeral Sirius slipped out of his dorm silently and made his way through the corridors, it was early morning and the sun had just risen above the trees, there was a chill in the air as he reached the tapestry of the trolls and began walking past the blank stretch of wall opposite. The door appeared and he stepped inside, closing it behind him and gazing up at the mountains of bits and pieces that students had hidden for years. He moved through the place, gazing around with vague interest, finally he found the tall mirror. He stopped before it and gazed at his reflection, a smile lit his face as he saw himself in the arms of that boy with wonderfully messy black hair. His reflection turned slightly to bring the others profile into view, Sirius' smile widened as he moved forward and touched the glass. Harry stared back at him, his green eyes full of love and affection. He pressed his palm to the glass and the mirror Harry pressed back, they smiled into each other's eyes. "I'm going to miss you, Harry." He whispered softly.

The day was warm, the breeze cool as it blew Harry's hair from his face. The funeral had been strange and he could still feel the empty place where Dumbledore had been, he walked a few feet away from where the great white marble tomb stood and realised he had a dark road to travel.

"Harry?"

He turned to see Hermione and Ron standing behind him, he smiled at them but then he caught sight of Sirius standing beneath a tree. His friends smiled and nodded and he moved towards Sirius who squashed his cigarette butt into the grass with the heel of his boot. "I-Is it...?" Harry was unable to speak properly. Every time he thought about Sirius leaving him he felt his chest tighten painfully and he had the urge to stop him, to keep him here forever. "Don't." He said suddenly, grabbing Sirius and pushing him into the tree, he pressed his forehead to his chest. "Don't leave me..."

"I have to Prongslet." Sirius replied, lifting his head up so they gazed into each other's eyes. "You'll be alright, you have Ron and Hermione..." His smile was full of tenderness as he leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on Harry's lips, when he drew away Harry saw golden light surrounding him, it swirled around him like a wind, whipping his long hair into his eyes. "I said I'd give you gift Harry potter." He said, his smile widening as his voice took on a far away quality. "I promised I'd give you a gift, and you will get it. I'm going to give back everything that was taken from you...I'm going to make you happy."

"You make me happy!" Harry said desperately, he could feel Sirius' form shifting beneath his fingers as became less substantial. Little dots of light surrounded him, swirling like fairies.

Sirius laughed, a single bark of sound that made warmth spread through Harry. "Thank you Harry. Thank you for being there...and becoming my everything. Thank you." When he next kissed him his lips were like the wind and when Harry tried to grab him he found only thin air...


	23. Chapter 23

AN: Well, I did warn you. This is the end and it's my signature bitter sweet ending. I actually nearly made myself cry with this, I'm sorry but I simply cannot write anything happy...there must be something wrong with me. So, please enjoy and let me know what you think, I am totally blown away by the interest in this story! All of you are absolutely brilliant, thank you a million times over for taking this journey with me and Sirius and Harry. :D

_**Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.**__**  
**__**- Lao Tzu**_

Harry opened his eyes and found himself gazing up at the ceiling, he frowned slightly as his strange dream lingered on. He could still see a pair of dark grey eyes in his mind's eye, eyes that were full of love and affection he rubbed his own and yawned as the scent of bacon drifted up from the kitchen below. He reached over to his bedside table and picked up his glasses, shoving them on as he slid out of bed. His room was as it always had been, his posters on the walls, a big gold and crimson Gryffindor banner sporting the rampant lion and his school trunk and the empty cage where Hedwig slept. He frowned in confusion, there was an emptiness in him that told him something was wrong, that something was missing...but he put it down to his strange dream and began to get dressed.

Once changed he went downstairs and into the small cottage kitchen, a woman stood by the Aga her long auburn hair tied back from her face as she kept an eye on the bacon in the frying pan. She turned her large green eyes to Harry and smiled. "Good morning, did you sleep well?" She asked.

Harry gazed at her, something was wrong...something... "M-mum?" He said and stepped forward, his eyes drinking in the sight of his mother hungrily, as if he hadn't seen her for years.

Lily looked at her son in bemusement. "Yes, darling?"

"I..." He frowned and shook his head just as he heard someone coming downstairs.

"Good morning! How is my wonderful family?" James Potter strode into the room smiling brightly as he ruffled his son's hair affectionately. "Happy seventeenth Harry." He said with a wink. "We'll have breakfast and then you can open your presents..." He paused at the confused look on Harry's face. "Are you alright? You're not ill are you?" He put a hand on his shoulder and peered at him, his hazel eyes glittering.

"I-I'm fine...I just..." He took a shuddery breath and shook his head as if to clear it. "I just had a bad dream."

"Oh, well, dreams are just that Harry, they're not real..." He moved to his wife and embraced her as Harry sat at the kitchen table still feeling strange, out of place as if he didn't really belong here, surrounded by warmth and loving smiles.

"What did you dream, honey?" Lily asked as she set a plate before him.

"I'm not sure..." He said slowly. "I remember that...there was someone...someone who I loved but...they went away. They said that they would give me a gift...I don't know, it's stupid."

James shrugged. "It probably doesn't mean anything, eat up, you're seventeen today and I have every intention of giving you the best birthday a father ever gave a son. You're a man now, Harry."

Harry felt a smile on his face and he set to eating his breakfast, yet still that feeling wouldn't leave him, even as he sat in the living room by the empty fireplace and opened his gifts, exclaiming every so often when he got something particularly good. When his mother left the room to do something Harry moved his eyes to a set of photographs that stood along a shelf, most were of him and his family but then his eyes landed on one and he jumped to his feet. He walked over to the shelf and picked up the ornate silver frame as his hands shook, flashes of memory shot through his mind, some so fast he couldn't decipher them properly. "D-Dad..." He said slowly. James walked up behind his son and looked down at the picture, it showed a boy in his late teens leaning against a motorbike and smoking, his smile was cheeky and full of insolent humour, he was handsome with long black hair and a leather jacket hanging off his shoulders. "This is..."

"Sirius Black." James replied, lifting the picture from his son's hands and gazing at it fondly, his eyes full of a bitter grief. "You wouldn't remember him, Harry, he died when you were tiny. He was your Godfather, and...and he died for us."

Harry felt a vicious sting of tears, he took a shuddery breath. "I-I...I had no idea..."

"No...It's not something I enjoy talking about. Actually he left you something...he made me promise not to give it to you till your seventeenth...so..." He went to the pile of presents and withdrew a silver box, it was plainly decorated and came with a lock and key. James handed the box to his son who took it reverently, the tears falling rapidly down his face, yet he had no idea why, he had never really known Sirius Black...why was he crying? "Harry? Are you alright?" James said, gazing at him in surprise.

"I-I...I'm not sure...I...I think I dreamt of him...He had grey eyes...and his family hated him."

James' eyes widened at that. "How can you know that?"

"I don't know..." He sat down and ran his fingers over the box with a frown. "But I think I'm about to find out." He put the key into the lock and slowly opened the lid to reveal a stash of letters and photographs, he picked up the first one and gazed at it with wide eyes. "That's...impossible!" He exclaimed and James moved to his side to look.

"But that's..."

"Me...and Ron and Hermione...and..."

"Sirius...oh you bastard!" James exclaimed, his voice cracking as he looked at the moving figures. "You...you git...I-I..."

Sirius black looked up at them from the moving image, he was grinning and had his arm around Harry's shoulders who was laughing. His sixteen year old self was frozen forever in that single moment, a moment that Harry couldn't remember ever experiencing.

_I said I'd give you gift Harry Potter._

Harry was shaking, his hands dropped to the box and he began searching through it until he found a letter written on expensive parchment and sealed with black wax. He picked it up and tore it open.

_Harry,_

_If I got this right you'll be seventeen now, I know you won't remember me as I'm probably not around. This might sound strange but I knew you, when I was sixteen your idiot father did some stupid magic that sent me into the future, your future, Harry. We met there and you were amazing. The years have passed now, as I'm writing this I'm twenty one and I know I don't have much time left, you won't remember but I told you I'd give you a gift, and here it is; I give you your parents. I always swore I would die for James, I made a stupid decision once and I didn't make that same mistake again. I'll tell you what happened after I was returned to my own time..._

_**XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX**_

Sirius felt that tingling buzz fading slowly, he stood still, keeping his eyes closed tightly as he tried to force the tears away, yet they fell anyway. "Harry..." He whispered, but it was drowned out by a sudden shout.

"Sirius!"

He spun around, letting his eyes fly open and saw James vaulting a chair and running towards him, he had reappeared in the common room. James ran at him and flung his arms around him, he took a shuddery breath and embraced him back. He held him tightly, letting his tears fall as he grabbed James' robes and inhaled his scent, which wasn't Harry's. "James." He breathed. "James...James..." He felt his voice crack and waver. "I missed you."

"I missed you as well." James gasped and pulled away to hold him at arm's length, he looked him up and down carefully. "Welcome home, Padfoot old friend."

"I'm home, James." Sirius smiled.

"We all missed you, Siri."

He turned to see Remus standing beside him and smiling gently, there was no grey in his hair, he had no premature lines around his eyes and he looked happy. Sirius pulled out of James' arms and flung them around Remus, James joined them and Sirius took a shuddery breath, letting his smile stretch his face. He was _home_.

When he finally managed to get the strength to pull away he turned to look around the familiar Gryffindor common room and spotted Peter standing there and looking awkward, a malicious grin split his face as he stepped over to the round boy. "Hi Peter...sorry, _Wormtail_..." He let his face fall into a frown.

"Sirius, it's been a while...how are you?"

"I'll be even better in just a moment, I would apologise for this, but I can't say it won't be fucking satisfying..." He drew back his fist. "Call this a pre-emptive strike, you wormy little shite!" he shouted and punched Peter in the face, the boy squealed and fell backwards, Sirius shook his hand and winced. "His face is harder than I thought." He grinned. "But that felt damned good."

"Sirius! What the hell was that for?" James exclaimed as he moved towards Peter, Sirius threw out his arm and stopped him.

"Don't bother James, he's a disgusting piece of filth and deserves everything he gets and worse."

"What are you talking about?" Remus said as Peter dragged himself to his feet, whimpering and clutching his broken nose.

"Let's just say I saw the future, Moons, and he doesn't deserve our friendship. Trust me, I can't tell you everything that happened but he will betray us all, and the effects will be disastrous." He looked at James who was looking at him as he digested his words.

"Dumbledore did tell us that you were in the future, or so he thought..." He said slowly.

"I was." Sirius smiled softly and gazed at his best friend. "And I learnt some things, James."

James returned his smile. "It's good to have you back Padfoot."

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXX

Sirius gazed into the crib, his chest tight as he looked at the baby version of the boy he had fallen in love with. Harry was tiny, his head full of gentle black fuzz and his tiny little hands clenched into fists as he slept soundly, he turned to James. "He's gorgeous, Prongs." He said softly but there was a bite in his voice that made James frown.

"Are you alright?" He asked and put a hand on his shoulder, Sirius pulled him into an embrace and smiled into his hair.

"I'm perfect, James." He whispered with feeling.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

"Voldemort is going after those who have thrice defied him and have a son born at the end of July...James, it is my belief that he is after Harry."

James gazed at Dumbledore, his face grave. "Then...how can we protect him?"

"You go into hiding, we will secure a place for you to go and we will keep you safe. I would recommend a secret keeper...someone you trust implicitly."

James' eyes met Sirius'. "I'll do it James." Sirius replied instantly, the strange look in his eyes made James pause.

"I...It'll be dangerous..."

"I know, do you think I care? If it means I can protect you and baby Harry..." When he said Harry's name his smile was so soft and full of love James felt slightly sad.

A few days later they stood outside the little cottage in Godric's Hollow, Sirius gazed up at the stars with a cigarette between his fingers. "You'll be safe now, James." He said softly and turned to face his friend.

"Sirius, you're not acting right...what's wrong?" James asked and stepped towards him, Sirius scanned his face intently, absorbing every tiny detail.

"I love you, James." He said with a small smile. "You're the best friend I could ever have asked for, and that son of yours..." The pain in his eyes seemed physical and he took a deep, shuddery breath. "Harry will grow to be a good man, he'll be powerful and intelligent and beautiful...and you'll be so proud of him! He's so loved...and he's so full of love..."

"How do you know?" James touched his face gently, a small frown on his face. "What did you see in the future?"

"Tragedy and pain and death." Sirius replied, stepping close and grabbing his friend, pushing fingers into his hair and pressing their foreheads together. "But it's not going to happen now, James. I promised him, I promised him a gift...A life for a life."

"What are you talking about?" James pulled away and gazed at Sirius with a worried frown.

"Nothing James, nothing at all." Sirius smiled.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

When they blasted down his door he had been expecting it. He gazed down at the letters and the silver box and shoved them roughly inside, locking it securely. He made sure the note to James was stuck to the top before he moved out of the bedroom and into the hall way and saw them close in, he fought as much as he could, but they were too many. It was a blur of masked faces, black robes and blinding lights, he heard a shout, a familiar voice;

"Do not kill him! He is for the Dark Lord!"

Sirius turned to see a tall man with long white-blond hair and cold light grey eyes, as the other Death Eaters closed in on him he lifted his wand. "Malfoy!" He screamed as green light shot from the end of his wand, at the exact same moment something hit him in the back but before he fell he saw Malfoy crumple as his Killing Curse hit him and he smiled as darkness obscured his vision.

The room was dark, the only light coming from a single candle upon a table. Two masked guards stood by the door and another taller figure paced up and down before Sirius' blurring vision. He lay on his side, his hands bound behind his back as he recovered from his latest bout of agony.

"I see you are strong, Black. I am impressed. I respect strength and courage, boy, join me and tell me where they are hiding the Potters and I will free you from this pain."

"Go bugger yourself!" Sirius croaked, closing his eyes as crimson light flashed and he was screaming again. Screaming so loudly his throat tore.

"Tell me where the Potters are!"

"NO!"

"Where are they?"

"No..."

"Tell me!"

"Never!"

"Where are the Potters?"

"K-Kill me...kill me..." Sirius was practically blind, he could hardly even feel the floor beneath him. He could taste nothing but blood from where he must have bitten his tongue, he was in so much pain he couldn't think. Time had no meaning anymore, it was all one long stream of darkness and the occasional flash of red light. He couldn't even hear his own screams anymore as he lay in a ball and shook violently. Each time the questions came he concentrated on seeing those beautiful green eyes and that smile, when Voldemort paused in his torture he made sure that all he could see was Harry, he imagined what he would look like as an adult and it made everything easier to cope with.

The hours were long. The darkness infinite. His memory was wavering, he could hardly even remember who he was sometimes, the only thing he could remember were those eyes, that smile and a name; Harry.

Sometimes, when he was left alone in his darkness, he would whisper that name to the floor. He would close his eyes and remember what it felt like to be loved and wanted. He would remember that warm embrace, those lips on his and he would smile.

When someone came to him for the last time he felt relief sweep through him. He was dragged up and half carried into the fresh air, when he was thrown to the ground he gazed up at a grey sky and he realised it was snowing. He smiled and blinked sluggishly. The fresh air, the scent of the forest everything was so good he was grinning and chuckling as people surrounded him.

He was still lying there when a great cry went up from his captors, he managed to open his eyes and see figures running through the forest, jets of light shooting through the air. A scream of rage went up as Voldemort was engaged in a fearsome battle with Dumbledore.

But Sirius' eyesight was blurring, he could only see a tall figure racing his way, shooting jets of light in all sorts of directions. As the figure fell to his knees beside him he smiled up into a familiar face, he couldn't remember his name but he knew he loved him. He lifted a shaking hand and grabbed his head, dragging it down to him; "I love you...H-Harry..." He rasped before darkness took him in its soft grip and took him away from his aching body and his broken mind.

James gazed down at his friend as his eyes closed, blood caked the side of his face and his robes were little more than rags, his body shook violently as he whispered in James' ear. When that hand fell away from his head James felt his breath leave him in a desperate sob, he grabbed Sirius and shook him. "Wake up! W-Wake up...No...no...Y-You can't! D-Don't...don't go...Sirius!"

_**XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX**_

When James finished talking he had tears in his eyes, Lily had joined them for when he had decided to finish Sirius' story. The letter was still clutched in Harry's sweaty hand as he gazed into the empty fireplace. After a while the silence was broken as James wiped a tear from his cheek.

"I didn't...I never understood his last words until now..." He croaked as Lily pulled him to her side. "I was such a fool, I never even realised what he had seen or what he had done when he disappeared all those years ago..."

Harry took a shuddery breath. "They say that Dumbledore defeated Voldemort..."

James nodded. "He destroyed him after learning some secret about what was keeping him alive, after we thwarted the prophesy there was no 'chosen one' and Voldemort never got near you thanks to Sirius' sacrifice." He spoke slowly as he fitted the pieces together.

Harry looked down at the letter and at the signature. "According to this when Sirius went to the future I-I was an orphan...and I was living with Aunt Petunia..." He pulled a face briefly. "So...His gift to me was you...h-he gave me a family." He felt his mother's arms around him and she kissed the top of his head.

"We'll always be with Harry." She whispered and he smiled.

"He sacrificed himself so that you would live..." Harry whispered as he felt a bite of pain as sharp as any knife. "He gave me the only thing he could...just because I loved him."

"There is no magic more powerful than that, Harry." Lily said with a soft smile as she stroked the tears from his face.

"Wh-where is he buried? I-I'd like to see..."

"In the graveyard...just across the way. You've never asked to see it before..." James said.

"Well, now I know the truth...I want to thank him..."

Lily and James both nodded gravely.

Harry made sure to look through everything within that box, it turned out that Sirius had written him several letters, each one a declaration of his love and utter loyalty to him and his father. But he found another letter, written in Sirius' bold cursive, he showed it to his father and James had exclaimed over it.

_The last will and testament of Sirius Orion Black, third of his name; I, Sirius Orion Black, third of this name, of sound body and mind do declare that upon my death the entire inheritance of the Black household will go to my Godson Harry James Potter, as is my right as the last living heir. I declare as of this moment that Harry James Potter is my rightful living heir and shall inherit all that I own, as is his right by blood through my Great Aunt Dorea Potter (Nee Black). Upon his seventeenth birthday he shall inherit all that is mine and all the power of the Ancient and Most Nobel House of Black._

_This is my Will,_

_Signed; Sirius O. Black._

Beneath that was a black seal with the Black coat of arms stamped firmly into it. Harry gaped at it for a very long time until James swore loudly.

"Do you know what he's done?" He stood up suddenly and gaped at his son who simply looked confused, as did Lily. James looked from one to the other before throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. "He has made Harry the head of the Black household...he has made him the most powerful seventeen year old in Wizarding Britain! With my name and titles on top of that its...its..." He seemed run out of words to express how huge this was.

Harry looked down at the paper for a long time, he couldn't understand it at all, it was just parchment with a wax seal...what power could it give him? When he expressed this thought his father knelt before him and took his hands. "Harry, Sirius gave you a family but he's also given you a huge amount of political weight. The Black's were the most powerful, largest and oldest families in Great Britain, their heritage goes back to the middle ages. Sirius was extremely rich and extremely powerful. With this much political weight you could become the Minister for Magic! Do you understand?"

Finally it sank in and Harry felt faint, he looked down at the letter again and opened and closed his mouth for a while. "B-But...I...I don't want to become Minister for Magic..." He said finally in a small voice.

XXXHPSBXXXHPSBXXX

The gravestone was marble, green grass covered it as Harry knelt before it and read the writing.

_Sirius Orion Black_

_(Padfoot)_

_February 2__nd__ 1959 – October 31__st__ 1981_

_Loyalty, love, devotion; Never forget._

_Here Lies a Hero._

Harry felt tears splash down his face, he lifted his arm and wiped them away roughly. He lifted his wand shakily and waved it, red roses and pink carnations appeared and fell lightly before the headstone. "I'll never forget." He whispered and climbed to his feet, slowly a smile spread across his face as his father put his arm around his shoulders. "Thank you, Sirius."

Together the Potters turned away from the grave, leaving the white stone to glitter in the sunshine. A shadow moved from within the shadows of the bushes on the far side of the churchyard, slowly a massive black dog appeared and padded silently towards the grave where it paused to sniff at the flowers. It gazed at the writing with its strangely human grey eyes before wagging its tail and turning away, as it reached the trees it took one last look over its shoulder and slowly faded away.

The wind blew the grass and the trees rustled, the only sign that the large dog had been there was a single paw print in the earth beside the marble headstone.

THE END.

_**You give me the wings to fly**__**  
**__**You are the clear blue sky**__**  
**__**I'm floating so free, so high**__**  
**__**Falling with grace - for you and I**__**  
**__**You give me the wings to fly**_

_**The Wings by **__**Gustavo Santaolalla**_


End file.
